P K N ABDUL MAZID Vs. STATE OF MADRAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has had a rice mill for over 20 years in Kottaguri village, tiruvadanai Taluk, Ramanathapuram Dt. After the introduction of the scheme of licensing rice mills under the Madras Act 29 of 1949, the petitioner obtained the requisite licence. The licensing is now regulated by the Madras Rice Mills Licensing order, 1955.

(2.) ON 1-8-1955, the third respondent Bala-krishnan Chettiar applied to the collector for ,a licence to work a rice mill of his in Kotagudi village. It was common ground that the site selected by him for his mill was only about 40 feet away from the petitioner's mill. The petitioner lodged his objection to the grant of the licence sought by the third respondent. On 9-11-1955 the Collector rejected the application that had been preferred by by the third respondent.

(3.) ON 3-1-1956 the third respondent preferred what purported to be an appeal to the Government against the order of the Collector dated 9-11-1955 refusing the licence for which the third respondent had applied. That petition was forwarded by the Government to the Commissioner of Civil Supplies on 19-1-1956. The petitioner intervened again and lodged his objections to the grant of a licence on 31-1-1956. The Commissioner submitted his report to the Government. Again the petitioner intervened and lodged his objections with the Government. By its order dated 23-4-1956, the Government treating the objections referred by the petitioner to the grant of a licence to the third respondent as "petitions" preferred by the petitioner, rejected them. Thus in effect, the petitioner's objections were overruled. The Government directed the issue of a licence to the third respondent and the Collector issued that licence to the third respondent on 3-5-1956.