- (1.) THE writ petitioner is a partner of a firm operating in its trade name "Damodar Enterprise", engaged in the business of distributorship under the provisions of the West Bengal Public Distribution System, (Maintenance and Control) Order 2003. THE petitioner, along with one Monohar Chandra Halder initially had been appointed as a modified ration (M.R.) distributor in the year 1985. At that point of time, practise of food and supplies department of the Government of West Bengal was to appoint such distributor by executing agreements with the individuals selected on the basis of stipulations of executive instruction. It appears that on 3 October 1983, the writ petitioner and said Monohar Chandra Halder had entered into a partnership agreement. (I shall refer to them as AM and MH respectively later in this judgment.) A copy of this agreement has been produced before this Court at the time of hearing, and from this agreement, I find that one of the main objects of this firm was to participate in the business of storage and sale of permitted food and related items on the basis of licence issued by the Government. A vacancy for M.R. Distributorship was declared on or about 25 January 1984 by the Sub-Divisional Controller (SDC), Food and Supplies, Burdwan Sadar at Polempur under his zone. THE petitioner along with MH as joint partners of said Damodar Enterprise applied for appointment as M.R. Distributor for this vacancy. Upon selection, a letter of appointment was issued in favour of "(1) Abdul Malek (2) Monohar Chandra Halder, prop. M/s DAMODAR ENTERPRISE" by the SDC.
(2.) THE distributorship agreement was entered into by the State Government with the petitioner and MH on 30 July 1985. In this agreement also, the petitioner and MH were referred to as "prop." of the said firm. In this agreement, there is no specific reference to the firm as regards its status as partnership, but this agreement records the names of both AM and MH with that abbreviation, as the second party to this agreement, which abbreviation implies proprietors of Damodar Enterprise. It was qualified further in this agreement that they were carrying on business as "M/s Damodar Enterprise". THEre is no allegation in this proceeding over running of such business till the year 2006. In the years 1988, 1992 and 1994, certain further agreements appear to have been executed concerning composition of Damodar Enterprise. But so far as relationship of the petitioner and MH with the food and supplies department is concerned, no alteration in terms thereof appears to have taken place. In the year 2003, the West Bengal Public Distribution System (Maintenance and Control) Order was promulgated under the provisions of Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act 1955. By this Control Order, distributorship of this nature was brought within its ambit, specifying the manner of their appointment as also regulation of their operations through a prescribed administrative hierarchy. As regards existing distributors who were operating when this Control Order was promulgated, they were given licences under the 2003 Control Order by the designated officer of the Food And Supplies Department. It is admitted position that the petitioner firm was not required to undergo any fresh selection process for this purpose and licence was issued in favour of (1) Abdul Malek, (2) Monohar Chandra Halder. In this licence also they were described as "prop of M/s. Damodar Enterprise". Such license was issued in the statutory form being form `C' on or about 9 September 2006. The genesis of the dispute involved in this writ petition lies in a complaint lodged by one Sk. Ajimuddin, being the intervenor in this proceeding, over issue of licence in the names of AM and MH. Though Sk. Ajimuddin was permitted to intervene in this proceeding without any formal order adding him as a party, he has contested this writ petition as a party respondent only, by filing affidavit, and argument has also been advanced on his behalf by his learned counsel. His case is that he is a partner of the firm, along with AM and MH and Safi Wahuda Rasul, who is the wife of the petitioner. The firm was reconstituted on 1 April 1994 and the recital part of this deed records that the same was being effected for amendment of some of the clauses of earlier deed of partnership. The intervenor compliant addressed to the District Controller (DC) of Food & Supplies, Burdwan was first made on 1 September 2006. Substance of his complaint was that he was a partner of M/s. Damodar Enterprise along with Monohar Chandra Halder, Abdul Malek and Safi Wahuda Rasul, but the petitioner had applied for such licence in his individual name. Case of the intervenor before this Court is that the original partnership firm had been reconstituted, and all the four aforesaid individuals became partners of the firm. Fresh deed of partnership was executed for the purpose of carrying on the business of wholesale M.R. distributors of rice, wheat etc. but the license for the same was being surreptitiously obtained by the writ petitioner under the 2003 Control Order in the name of two partners only.
(3.) FROM the materials disclosed, there is no evidence of initiation of any formal proceeding by the authorities on the basis of that complaint. A report, copy of which has been Annexure "P6" to the writ petition, was made by the DC to the Director, District Distribution Procurement and Supply, (DDPS), Food & Supplies Department. In this report dated 6 November 2006, he however observed that he made an enquiry into the allegations. His finding on the issue was that the District Magistrate, Burdwan had disposed of the case by appointing Domodar Enterprise, whose partners were Sri Monohar Halder and Sri Abdul Malek as M.R. Distributor at Kejurhati after declaration of vacancy. Subsequently, the shop-cum-godown stood transferred to Polempur. Damodar Enterprise in the meantime did not submit any application for inclusion of any other partner and office of the appropriate authority had not approved the same. It was also indicated in that report in Sk. Ajimuddin was an outsider and unknown to the office of the DC. It was also disclosed in that report that licence of M/s Damodar Enterprise in form `A' under the 2003 Control Order had been issued afresh upon observing all formalities and legal compliance. Licence of M.R. Distributorship under the 2003 Control Order issued in favour of AM and MH as proprietors of the said firm had initial validity till 31 December 2006. It appears that another complaint was lodged by the intervenor on 5 March 2007 in the same line. In this complaint, a copy of which has been made Annexure "X4" to the affidavit-in-opposition of the intervenor to the main writ petition, rectification of the licence already issued was requested, for recording therein the names of all the partners. On 4 April 2007, the DC issued a memorandum requiring explanation of AM and MH as to why and under what circumstances they had obtained the licence without disclosing the names of all the partners.;