- (1.) S. H. A. Raza, J. Under a scheme know as Open Market Sale (Domestic) Scheme, the Food Corpn. of India has directed the Senior Regional Managers and the District Managers of the Food Corpora tion of India to allocate and sell the stock of foodgrains to grain dealers for purposes of stablishing the prices in the open market. It may be also for the reason that the Food Corpn. of India has sufficient Stock and the authority of the Food Corpn. of India, might have been facing difficulty in storage.
(2.) THE scheme was circulated in very offices for the sale of wheat stock allotted for the said purpose and for the month of October and November, application were invited. As far as the sale of wheat for the month of October is concerned firstly the cut off date for receiving the applications was fixed upto 10 October, which was later on extended upto 25th October. THE Senior Regional Managers were directed to scrutinised the applications and release the stock of food grains to the extent on one hundred metric tonnes, where the stock was five thousand metric tonnes and two hundred metric tonnes, if the stock was above five thousand metric tonnes. Accord ingly under the said scheme a committee was constituted to scrutinised the applica tions upto to 2nd November, and release the quota by 5th November. For one reason or the other the committee decided to club the quota or stock of wheat under the scheme for the months of October and November together for the reasons that Dewali fes tival was near and the number of applica tions were large. It was decided that in ac cordance with the applications which were received upto 28th October, 1996 the stock of the wheat be given to the dealers, who had applied and deposited 10% of the total price as earnest money. At that time there were 447 applications. THE quantity of the wheat available at that time was not sufficient to allot the quantity which was indented by the dealers. THErefore, the Committee took a decision to allot 85% of the quantity in dented by the buyers who had deposited the balance amount of 90% after adjusting the earnest money and the other parties who had not deposited full cost have been al lotted lessor quantity of wheat. THE total quantity of wheat was of 90224. 5 metric ton nes as against 50,000 metric tonnes of Oc tober quota and 45,000 metric tonnes of November, quota. After the distribution for the month of October, writ petitions were flooded before this Court. On 8-11-1996 in Writ Petition No. 3270 (MB) of 1996 a Division Bench of this Court passed the following order". Submission of the petitioners coun sel is that scheme for open market sale of food grain is contained in Annexure 1 which provided that senior Regional Manager, Lucknow will receive applications from in tending buyers upto 31-10-1996 and there after on 2nd November 1996 the said ap plication will be scrutinized by the three members committee and the Committee will finalise the matter before 5th of Novem ber, 1996. However Annexure 5th A shows that the foodgrains was allotted for the month of November, 1996 on 29th October 1996 itself. Miss Veena Sinha who had been granted to time to obtain instructions failed to point out as to how foodgrain was sold on 29-10-1996 especially when the application had been invited upto 31-10-1996. Sri Munni Lal Assistant Manager Commercial is present and he also failed to point out as to why stock was allotted. He stated that several applications had already been received, hence stock was allotted on 29th October, 19% itself and thereafter ap plications were not received. The petitioner submits that he has already prepared a draft on 29th and 30th October, 1996 but his application was refused. The petitioner is ready to furnish the said application within 4 hours before the senior Regional Manager Lucknow opposite party No. 3. If the same is given then the opposite parties the directed to consider the said application also for al lotment of stock forthwith. The order is passed in presence of Sri Munni Lal Assis tant Manager who ensures the compliance.
(3.) THE petitioners before us have raised two main grievances against the man ner in which the foodgrains stock were al lotted and given to the dealers. Firstly, that no public notice were issued to invite ap plications for the dealers. Miss Veena Sinha counsel appearing for the Food Corpora tion of India stated that large number of applications have been received by the Dis trict Managers as well as Senior Managers which shows that the dealers have the knowledge of the scheme. THE notice was posted at the notice board of the District Manager's Office of Food Corporation of India. We are of the view that what has already been has been done, and we can not set the clock back. However, it will be ap propriate for the Food Corporation of India in future, when it decides to sell the stock in future, that it should publish the notice in some daily newspaper at least one in English and one in Hindi to enable to dealers to apply for purchasing the stock of the foodgrains.;