IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) TUESDAY, THE TENTH DAY OF NOVEMBER TWO THOUSAND AND NINE PRESENT THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE GOPALA KRISHNA TAMADA WRIT PETITION NO : 24112 of 2009 Between: Cheppa Yerni Simhachalam ..... PETITIONER(S) AND The State of Andhra Pradesh, rep. by the Commissioner, Civil Supplies, Hyderabad and two others. .....RESPONDENT(S) THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE GOPALA KRISHNA TAMADA WRIT PETITION NO : 24112 of 2009 ORDER: The petitioner is an unemployed engineering graduate and he started business in the name and style of SIM Stores by obtaining licence from the Commercial Tax Department. While he was carrying on business in rice, the 3rd respondent-District Civil Supplies Officer, Eluru, along with staff, inspected his business premises on 20-10-2009 and seized the entire rice from the shop on the ground that he does not possess food grains licence. Immediately he applied for the said licence. After coming to know that the proceedings under Section 6-A of the Essential Commodities Act, 1995 (for brevity ‘the Act’) have been initiated, the petitioner approached the 2nd respondent-Joint Collector (CS), Eluru, seeking release of the said stock. However, as no orders have been passed, he approached this Court and filed the present writ petition. 2. The only ground urged by the learned counsel for the petitioner is that the petitioner is an un-employee and he does not know that he also requires the food grains licence for doing rice business and according to him, immediately after the inspection and coming to know that he requires foodgrains licence, he applied for the same and the same is pending. 3. The learned Government Pleader for Civil Supplies submitted that the matter is reported to the District Collector, who in- turn, initiated the proceedings under Section 6-A of the Act and that the contention of the petitioner that he does not have knowledge about requirement of food grains licence for doing rice business cannot be accepted. 4. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Government Pleader for Civil Supplies. 5. The proceedings under Section 6-A of the Act have been initiated and the petitioner has already approached the 2nd respondent and filed an application seeking release of the seized stock. In the circumstances, I deem it appropriate to dispose of the writ petition with a direction to the respondents. 6. Accordingly, the 2nd respondent-Joint Collector (C.S.), Eluru, is directed to complete the enquiry and pass appropriate orders on the application filed by the petitioner within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. Meanwhile, the stocks that were seized by the respondents shall be released in favour of the petitioner, but, however, on a condition of the petitioner depositing the sale deeds to protect the interest of the Government. 7. With the aforesaid directions, the writ petition is disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs. _______________ November 10, 2009 Note: Issue C.C. tomorrow. B/o Kvr