ASHUTOSH KUMAR, J.:–Heard Mr. Kamal Nayan Choubey, learned Senior Advocate for the petitioners and Mr. Alok Ranjan, learned Advocate for the State.

2. This writ petition was initially filed for setting aside the order dated 28.08.2019 passed by the Divisional Commissioner, Magadh Division, Gaya whereby the final selection list of proposed licensees under the PDS scheme for Aurangabad district has been cancelled on the basis of an ex-parte inquiry report submitted by three member inquiry committee constituted by the Divisional Commissioner. As also for setting aside the report of such inquiry committee as well as the direction of the Secretary, Food and Consumer Protection Department, Government of Bihar to initiate a fresh process of selection of PDS dealers in the district of Aurangabad.

3. From the conspectus of the pleadings and the documents brought on record, it appears that pursuant to an Advertisement No. 1 of 2017 inviting application for suitable candidates for grant of licence under the Bihar Targeted P.D.S. (Control) Order, 2016, the petitioners and others applied and were provisionally selected. The petitioners no. 1 to 4 were finally kept in Slot No. 1 to 4 whereas the petitioners no. 5 and 6 were selected under the reserved and handicapped categories respectively. Only when the licence was required to be issued by the licensing authority, the Divisional Commissioner, Gaya vide order dated 11.03.2019 constituted a committee of three members to look into the grievances of some of the candidates who had not been selected.

4. Several writ petitions came to be filed before this Court and when some of the Benches were made known that a committee has been constituted to look into the grievances of the aspirants, this Court gave a general direction to the writ petitioners to appear before the Commissioner, Magadh Division, Gaya, who was further directed to look into the matter and have the complaints examined by a committee to be constituted in that regard and thereafter take a decision in accordance with law.

5. Before such orders were passed in different writ petitions, a three member committee had already been constituted which was looking into the complaints regarding the selection process.

6. The committee appears to have submitted its report on 08.07.2019. Since lot many inconsistencies were pointed out by the committee, the Government in the Food and Civil Supply Department thought it fit to anull the entire process and initiate a fresh selection process for issuance of licence in the district of Aurangabad.

7. Pursuant to the afore-noted decision, Advertisement No. 1 of 2019-20 has been published and the process has been set in motion for selection of suitable candidates for being given the licence to run the PDS shops.

8. This Court has been made to understand that the aforesaid decision has been challenged by many of the writ petitions which are pending adjudication before this Court.

9. Mr. Choubey, learned Senior Advocate appearing for the petitioners has drawn the attention of this Court to an order dated 25.03.2021 passed by a Single Judge of this Court in CWJC No. 21657 of 2019, wherein it was held by the Court that the three member committee referred to above was constituted to look into the matter regarding general grievances of various applicants who had not succeeded in the selection process.

10. Since no information was available to the committee with respect to the petitioners therein who had already been selected and were duly communicated to deposit the required amount through challan, the general finding of the three member committee would not then be applicable and finding to the case of such petitioner and others.

11. The Court went on to state that the process could not have been annulled lock, stock and barrel without giving an opportunity to those successful candidates.

12. Under such circumstances, it was directed that the licencing authority must handover the licence to the petitioner therein, but he