- (1.) Heard Sri Dharm Pal Singh learned Senior Counsel and the learned Counsel for the respondents. The challenge in this petition is to the inaction on the part of the respondents in granting a fair price shop licence to the petitioner and the prayer is to quash the orders passed by the licencing authority as well as by the Commissioner with a direction to them to consider and grant a fair price shop licence to the petitioner in the circumstances as expressed keeping in view the directions dated 10.3.2006 in Writ Petition No. 5755 of 2002.
(2.) The petitioner appears to have been granted licence which came to be cancelled. He was also prosecuted in a criminal case. The policy of the then State Government was altered and the criminal prosecution was withdrawn.
(3.) The petitioner had challenged the cancellation order before this Court in a Writ Petition No. 5755 of 2002 which was ultimately disposed by the following orders on 10.3.2006: The petitioner aggrieved by the order of cancellation of the license of the fair price shop, has filed the present writ petition. In the mean time the Government has/issued a Government Order dated 30.10.2001 by which the proceeding pending against the licensees of the fair price shops pending in the State of U.P. were directed to be withdrawn. In view of the aforesaid fact the proceedings against the petitioner has been withdrawn. The petitioner submitted an application before the authority concerned for return of the goods, which were seized after the cancellation of the fair price shop license of the petitioner. The said application was disposed of on 7.8.2004 and a direction to this effect was issued to return the said amount in favour of the petitioner. Now the petitioner states that nothing is pending. The application of the petitioner for granting a license in favour of the petitioner has not been considered and the petitioner is entitled to get a license of the fair price shop. After hearing Counsel for the parties and after perusal of the record, it is clear that no proceeding is pending against the petitioner and the goods, which were seized according to the valuation of the goods equal amount to that effect has been returned to the petitioner by order dated 7.8.2004. As such the petitioner can be considered for grant of license. The present wit petition is disposed of with an observation that if the petitioner files an application for grant of license before the authority who is competent to grant a license in favour of the pet, the same may be considered taking into consideration that now no proceeding is pending against the petitioner and if such application is filed, the same may be decided according to law if possible within two months from the date of production of a certified copy of this order before him. With these observations the writ petition is disposed of. No order as to costs.;