The main legal point established in the judgment is that the time limit for making an application for compassionate appointment under the West Bengal Public Distribution System (Maintenance and Control) Order, 2013 is directory and not mandatory. The court emphasized the need to interpret the provisions in a manner that ensures equal treatment before the law and equal protection of the laws for all citizens.

JUDGMENT

I. P. Mukerji, J. - This judgment was made ready before the imposition of lockdown by the government on account of the COVID pandemic. It is now being delivered after proper availability of technical infrastructure to deliver the same. MR dealership granted by the state government is not a heritable right. When an MR dealer dies, a vacancy in the distribution network arises. In the usual course it is filled up by a selection process. However, the legal heir of the deceased distributor is given an option to apply to the government for grant of dealership, in his or her favour, on compassionate ground within or without a specified time limit. The case for compensation is made out if the family is in financial hardship. When such an application is made and the other conditions in the scheme for the grant of dealership in such a contingency are fulfilled, then the government has a discretion to grant the dealership in favour of the legal heir.

2. In this case, the legal heir is the mother of the deceased dealer, Sabyasachi Patra. She filed such an application. However, this application was delayed by a few months. On this ground alone her application was not considered by the government.

3. In the instant writ application [WP 14866(W) of 2018] the learned single judge by his impugned judgment and order dated 16th August, 2018 dismissed the writ application of the widow on the ground that the time limit of sixty days from the death of the MR dealer specified in the scheme could not be extended on any ground and that the respondent authority was justified in rejecting the delayed application of the appellant/writ petitioner.

4. Now, I shall come to the facts in more detail.

5. The government of West Bengal issued the Kerosene Control Order in 1968. It provided for issuance of a licence for MR dealership. It is issued by the Sub-Divisional Controller, Food and Supplies of the district. In this case, the licence was issued by the Sub-Divisional Controller, Bankura. It was in favour of the husband of the appellant, appointing him as an MR and Kerosene dealer.

6. The subordinate legislation involved is the West Bengal Public Distribution System (Maintenance and Control) Order, 2013. It was made in the exercise of the power conferred on the state government by Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 read with a notification dated 31st August, 2001 issued by the Central government. Paragraph 20 of this order provides for appointment of a family member of a deceased dealer on compassionate ground. The criterion to be satisfied is that for shortage of financial resources the family on the death of the dealer cannot survive. This application had to be made within 60 days of death.

7. During the lifetime of the appellant s husband, at his request this dealership was transferred to his elder son, Sabyasachi Patra. The appellant has averred in the writ petition that her son, Sabyasachi ran the dealership properly obtaining a licence under the West Bengal Public Distribution System (Maintenance and Control) Order, 2013 read with the West Bengal Kerosene Control Order, 1968.

8. The appellant was visited by misfortune. She lost her husband on 21st December, 2008 and her son, Sabyasachi on 6th January, 2016.

9. She stated in the writ petition that she was greatly disturbed mentally on the death of her son. She was living separately from the rest of the family. After partially recovering from her grief, she had no option but to stake her claim for the dealership on compassionate ground to meet the expenses of living. She says that on or about 9th June, 2016 she decided to make the application for transfer of the dealership in her favour. On the same day she filled up the TR Form No. 7, which was the applicable form, got it countersigned by the Sub-Divisional Controller, Bankura and deposited the application fee of Rs.1,000/-. It is also said that the application with the requisite documents could only be filed with the authority on