G.P.MATHUR,J. - (1.) THIS petition under Article 226 of the Constitution has been filed for quashing of the appointment of Smt. Neelam Singh (respondent No. 6) as distributor of LPG at Maniyar in district Ballia. The parties have exchanged affidavits and with their consent, the writ petition ts being disposed of finally at the admission stage.
(2.) THE Indian Oil Corporation, Northern Zone, (hereinafter referred to as the IOC) issued an advertisement in the newspapers for appointment of distributor of Indane Gas (LPG) at Maniyar in district of Ballia and some other places. It was also mentioned in the advertisement that the distributorship is reserved for women. In response to the advertisement, the petitioner Smt. Manju Bala Chaubey moved an application in prescribed proforrna along with a bank draft of Rs. 500. The petitioner and thirty four other candidates were called to appear for an interview before the Dealer Selection Board, Lucknow (hereinafter referred to as the Selection Board). The Selection Board recommended the names of three persons, namely : (i) Smt. Manju Bala Chaubey, petitioner; (ii) Smt. Neelam Singh, respondent No. 6 and (iii) Smt. Manju Singh, respondent No. 7. According to the petitioner, the result of the interview conducted by the Selection Board was pasted on the notice board of the office in which her name was placed at the top. Since the petitioner was the only widow amongst the three candidates recommended by the Selection Board, she was hopeful that the distributorship shall be allotted to her. Subsequently, it was learnt that the IOC had selected respondent No. 6 Smt. Neelam Singh for being appointed as distributor of LPG atManiyar in the district of Ballia and a letter of intent was issued in her favour on 12.5.1999. The petitioner seeks quashing of the order by which respondent No. 6 has been appointed as distributor of LPG and has further prayed that a writ of mandamus be issued to IOC to appoint the petitioner as dealer of LPG at Maniyar in the district of Ballia. Before considering the argument advanced by the learned counsel for the parties, it is necessary to mention certain basic facts which have a bearing on the controversy raised. The Ministry of Petroleum, Government of India has made a policy and in accordance therewith eligibility criteria has been laid down for award of dealership/ distributorship of petrol, diesel and LPG by the Public Sector Oil Companies. A copy of the same has been filed as Annexure -3 to the writ petition and the relevant part thereof is being reproduced below : 'Eligibility criteria for award of dealership/Distributorship under 'open' category : PART I Please note the following carefully : You should submit the application form only if you conform to the following eligibility criteria. In case, you do not meet the prescribed eligibility criteria or the application is not complete in all respects, it is liable to be rejected without assigning any reasons and no correspondence will be entertained in this regard. 1. Nationality Indian 2. Age Min. 21 years Max. 60 years on the date of application. 3. Educational Qualification Minimum Matriculation or recognisedequivalent. 4. Residence Resident of the concealed District as stated tn the advertisement. 5.Relationship (a) No person shall be awarded a new dealership/distributorship if he/ she already holds a Letter of Intent (LOI) or a dealership/distributorship of MS/HSD/ Kerosene/ LDO/ LPG of any Public Sector Oil Company. (b) No person shall be awarded a new dealership/distributorship if anyof the following close relatives (including step relations) of the person alreadyholds a letter of dealership/distributorship of MS/HSD/Kerosene /LDO/LPG ofany Public Sector Oil Company. (i) Spouse (ii) Father/Mother (not applicable to daughter) (iii) Brother/ Brother's wife (not applicable for women applicants) (iv) Son /daughter in law 6 .Gross income The candidate not have gross income of more than Rs. 2 lacsfor the last financial year, as specified in the advertisement. The income for this purpose will Include thatof self, spouse and dependentchildren. If the candidate is dependent on the parents, then theirincome will also beconsideration for computing the total 7 . Partnership Each partner should individually meet, each eligibilitynorm. If any of the partners is found ineligible, the applications of all thepartners shall be rejected. 8. Cooperative societies (a) Theco -operative society must be registered. (b) Nosociety shall be awarded a new dealership/ distributorship if itor any of thealready hold(s) a Letter of Intent or a dealership/distributorship of MS/HSD/ Kerosene/LDO/L PG of any Public Sector OilCompany. 9................. 10................. 11................. PART II Please ensure compliance with the following conditions while submitting the application : (1) If any statement made in the application or in the documents enclosed herewith or subsequently submitted in pursuance of the application by the candidate at any stage is found to be incorrect or false, his/her application is liable to be rejected without assigning any reason and in case, he/she has been appointed as a dealer/ distributor, his/her dealership /distributorship shall have noclaim whatsoever against the oil company. (2) In case of partnership, each partner should submit an application form giving the requisite information against item 15 of application form that it is a partnership application. The applicants who desire to apply as partners should tag their applications together and submit in one lot. Each partner shouldindividually meet eligibility criteria and all of them must appear for the interview. (3) ..... (4) ..... (5) ..... (6) ..... (7) Residence The applicant must produce separately a residence certificate issued within previous six months of the date of application duly signed by the Competent Government Authority as per the attached format. (8) Priority and facilities to women (applicable for location reserved for women only). Other things being equal unmarried women above 40 years of age without earning parents and widows will be given priority over others.
(3.) ON their application and subject to the satisfaction of the oil company, unmarried women above 40 years of age without earning parents and widows will be provided the following by the oil company as per the prevalent policies. For Retail Outlet (Petrol/Diesel outlet) .... ..... For Kerosene/LDO Dealership : ..... ..... For LPG Distributorship : (a) A complete LPG godown. (b) Showroom (c) Required delivery system (d) Two telephones without STD/ISD (Rental and call charges to be borne by the dealer). (e) Clean Toilet. Oil companies will also provide to the selected candidate (falling in the above category), an adequate working capital for a full operation cycle for the operation of dealership/ distributorship. Both the working capital as well as 11% per annum interest thereon will be recovered in 100 monthly instalments from the 13th month of commissioning of the dealership/distributorship.' ;