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2020 Supreme(Bom) 1444
IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY (AURANGABAD BENCH)
S.P. Deshmukh, M.G. Sewlikar, JJ.
Jayesh Jagdish Yedlawar - Appellants
Vs.
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. - Respondent
Writ Petition No. 6756 of 2020
Decided On : 25-11-2020
Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant : Satyajit S. Bora
For the Respondents: Anand Bhandari
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the objections raised by the respondents must be in line with the specified eligibility criteria, and the rejection of an application should be justified based on valid grounds.
Headnote:
Indian Oil Corporation - Petition for Quashing Order - Article 226 of the Constitution of India - [Selection of Dealers for Regular and Rural Retain Outlets dated 24-11-2018, Rule 4]
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner applied for a retail outlet/dealership of petrol pump at Dahegaon. The application was rejected by Indian Oil Corporation on the grounds of not furnishing requisite documents and objections.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the objections raised by the respondents were not sustainable and that the rejection of the petitioner's application was rendered unsustainable.
Issues: The main issue was the rejection of the petitioner's application for the retail outlet/dealership and the validity of the objections raised by the respondents.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the objections raised by the respondents were not in line with the eligibility criteria specified in the 'Selection of Dealers for Regular and Rural Retain Outlets dated 24-11-2018, Rule 4'. The court also found that the rejection of the petitioner's application was unjustified.
Final Decision: The impugned order dated 30-12-2019 was set aside, and the respondents were directed to consider the grievance raised by the petitioner in his communication dated 09-01-2020. The Writ Petition was allowed accordingly.
JUDGMENT :
M.G. Sewlikar, J.
1. Rule.
Rule made returnable forthwith. By consent of the parties, the matter is taken up for final disposal at the admission stage.
2. This is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for quashing of the order of respondent Nos. 1 and 2 dated 30-12-2019.
3. Facts leading to this petition can be succinctly stated as under:
Respondent Indian Oil Corporation Limited published an advertisement on 25-11-2018 in the newspaper and thereby invited applications from the persons, who are interested in opening a new retail outlet/dealership of petrol pump at Dahegaon on left hand side on Aurangabad-Pune road between K.M.206 to 204. Since the petitioner, was interested, he filed online application on 17-12-2018 along with all the requisite documents. While petitioner is required to refer to marital status in appendix-XA under paragraph 14, petitioner had mentioned in the column of marital status as "single" which indicated that the petitioner was unmarried. On 12-09-2019, petitioner received an e-mail from Indian Oil Corporation calling upon the petitioner to submit the following details/documents:
1) In appendix XA marital status in para 14 is not clear whether candidate is married or unmarried. Para 6 and 17 are also not clear as these paras are not strike of.
2) Details of Higher Secondary pass examination given in the application but copy of mark-sheet/certificate is not enclosed in the application but school leaving certificate is enclosed.
On 09-10-2019, petitioner received another communication calling upon again to furnish aforesaid information as was sought under letter dated 12-09-2019. The petitioner is stated to have personally visited the Office of the Indian Oil Corporation and brought to the notice of the authorities that he had already complied with the requirements/objections and his application can be processed further. However, to the utter surprise of the petitioner, he received a communication/order dated 30-12-2019 issued by the Head of Divisional Office, Indian Oil Corporation, Aurangabad, to the effect that the application of the petitioner for award of the RO Dealership at Dahegaon under open category, was found ineligible as the petitioner did not furnish the requisite documents.
4. The petitioner contends that after receipt of the said communication, he immediately forwarded the communication dated 09-01-2020, pointing out to the respondent authorities that the documents sought by the Indian Oil Corporation were already annexed to original application and that there was no deficiency. The petitioner did not receive any communication from the respondents thereafter. While petitioner learnt that the respondents have started further process in the matter and therefore, the petitioner is left with no alternative than to file present petition.
5. Heard Shri S.S. Bora, learned counsel for the petitioner and Shri Anand Bhandari, learned counsel for the respondents.
6. Shri Bora, learned counsel for the petitioner argued that the documents asked for were already annexed with the online application. He further submitted that eligibility for making application is 10th Standard pass. He had also annexed HSC certificate. According to him, there was no occasion for the respondents to raise this objection. The eligibility was 10th Standard pass and the petitioner had tendered necessary documents in that regard and necessary requirements were complied with. Since the demands under communication were not sustainable, he had explained that said documents were of little relevance as far as requirements were concerned. He further submitted that so far as marital status is concerned, the petitioner has mentioned "single" which indicates that he was unmarried at the time of making the application. He further submitted that the petitioner had been to the Office of the respondents and brought to the notice of the Officers of the respondents that the petitioner had given satisfactory explanation in
