- (1.) The petitioner challenges the cancellation of the dealership awarded to the petitioner for retail sale of petroleum products. The petition also contains challenge to the paragraph 5.1.2 and 8.2 of the Marketing Discipline Guidelines which has been taken the basis to find that the petitioner was guilty of tampering with the facilities and consequently, entailing the termination of the dealership.
(2.) The petitioner is a physically handicapped person being polio affected and he was awarded with the dealership of petroleum products in the year 1989. The facilities were periodically inspected and the records would bear out that upto 21.10.2013, there was no adverse incident requiring any action on the part of the respondents against the petitioner. On 21.10.2013, a checking had been done and the petroleum was sent for test report that revealed that the sample met to the requirements of the Motor Gasoline BSIV (EBMS). This inspection was again done on 23.10.2013 and the products were sent for test and the report given on 01.11.2013 again revealed that the sample met with the requirements. However, the inspection report recorded the fact that the totalizer seal was found broken and that re-stamping had been done on 27.07.2013 and the seal had been found broken within a period of about three months.
(3.) The petitioner's contention is that the discharge units of petrol and diesel were themselves uncovered and being open to sun and rain, the steal and iron parts including the external cover had been rusted and the petitioner had himself claimed to have given a representation on 18.10.2012 that dispensing unit sealing wires had been rusted and worn out and they were prone to breaking. It was, therefore, requested that the sealing wires of the dispensing units might be replaced with new wires. The communication sent to the Metrology Officer, Rohtak has been filed as Annexure P-12. The respondents served a show cause notice on 18.11.2013 stating that in the inspection which was carried on 23.10.2013, the following defects/irregularities were noticed:- "i. Weights and Measures Seals on totalizer of L&T Dispensing Unit bearing Sr. No.KR L & T 2954 on Motor Spirit (MS) service was found broken. This is pertinent to mention that re-stamping of metering unit of the said DU was done on 27.07.2013. ii. Positive stock variations of 5.61% are found in MS which is well beyond permissible limits. iii. Sales register/stock register not properly updated/maintained. Physical dips need to be recorded and loss/gain on daily basis to be accounted. iv. Pump testing to be done on daily basis for all nozzles and to be recorded in sales register. v. The retention samples to be kept tankwise. The second last sample was not sealed.";