Falshaw, J. - (1.) This is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution by the firm Messrs. Kalyan Singh Nand Kumar Jain praying for an order by way of mandamus to the respondent, the Director of Civil Supplies (General) of Delhi, directing him to enable the petitioner firm to apply for a licence to deal in cement.
(2.) The case of the petitioner is that the flrm for some years held a licence issued by the respondent under the Delhi Cement Control Order of 1950 for dealing in cement, the last licence issued to the firm being valid up to the 15-3-1953-Owing to certain events in December, 1952, however, an order was passed on the 16-1- 1953 suspending the licence, which was later cancelled by an order dated 14-41953. The petitioner firm was not even permitted, when it tried to apply for a licence for 1953-54, to make the deposit of Rs. 25/- in the treasury which is a necessary accompaniment of an application for a licence. The main burden of the petition appears to be that, whether the respondent in his discretion may refuse to issue a licence to the petitioner or not, he is at any rate bound to allow the petitioner facilities for filing his application for a licence.
(3.) Such a prayer seems to me to be almost meaningless, since it would be quite useless for this Court to issue an order such as is prayed for by the petitioner if the respondent will thereafter still be entitled to reject the application, and be justified in so doing. It is therefore necessary to examine the grounds on which the previous licence was cancelled and the petitioner's application for a fresh licence for 1953-54 not even entertained.;