- (1.) RAJES Kumar, J. By means of the present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners are challenging the impugned notices issued by the respondent No. 5 whereby the licence fee of vending/catering sale at different stations in the North Eastern Railway has been enhanced from 5 to 45 times.
(2.) THE claim of the petitioners are that they are holding the vending licence for the sale of eatables at the Railway Station. THEir licences have been renewed from time to time. It is also claimed that during the subsistence of such licence, the respondent has increased the licence fee from the date of the notice for the subsequent period arbitrary ranging from 5 time to 45 times. According to the petitioners such increase is wholly arbitrary and unreasonable and fixed without hearing the petitioners without making any proper exercise. The claim of the respondent is that under the licence, they have a right to enhance the licence fee during the subsistence of the licence and, accordingly, the licence fee has been enhanced. Heard Sri B. D. Madhyan and Sri Chhotey Lal Pandey, learned Senior Advocate for the petitioners and Sri U. N. Sharma, Senior Advocate and Sri Govind Saran, learned Counsels for the respondents.
(3.) COUNTER and rejoinder affidavits have been exchanged. With the consent of learned Counsel for both the parties, present writ petitions are being disposed of. Learned Counsel for the petitioners submitted that it is true that under the licence, respondent had a right to increase the licence fee during the subsistence of the licence, but such revision should be reasonable and not arbitrary. While in the present case, licence fee has been enhanced from 5 times to 45 times. They submitted that before revising the licence fee, no show-cause notice or any opportunity has been given to the petitioners and the petitioners have not taken into confidence in this regard. He submitted that the petitioners are the poor persons having small capital to carry on the business and are unable to pay the enhanced licence fee. The prices of the goods have been fixed keeping in view of the old licence fee and the petitioners were not expecting for such an arbitrary increase in the licence fee. They placed reliance upon the decision in the case of Ganesh Chandra v. Union of India & Ors. , reported in 2000 (4) AWC 3417, wherein the Division Bench of this Court has set aside the enhancement of the licence fee within six months of the date of the licence from Rs. 2,500/- per annum to Rs. 7,175/- almost three times.;