JUDGMENT

Dipak Misra, J.:-

Leave granted in both the special leave petitions.

2. Questioning the legal acceptability of the order dated 16.9.2009 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court Orissa at Cuttack in WP(C) No. 3913 of 2009 whereby the High Court entertained the writ petition preferred by the first respondent herein and quashed the grant of exclusive privilege and the licence granted in favour of Ropan Sahoo and Mukesh Kumar, the respondent Nos. 5 and 6 in the writ petition, the present appeals have been preferred by the grieved persons as well as by the State.

3. Shorn of unnecessary details the facts which are requisite to be stated are that Mukesh Kumar, the respondent No. 6 before the High Court, had submitted an application for grant of licence to open an IMFL “Off” shop in Ward No. 16, Bargarh Town for the year 2007-08 on 28.1.2008. As a report was submitted that the proposed site was violative of sub-rule 1(c) of Rule 34 of Orissa Excise Rules, 1965 (for short “the Rules”), the said respondent chose to withdraw the application for the aforesaid year by indicating personal reasons. In respect of the next financial year he again submitted an application for grant o