The central legal point established in the judgment is the requirement for the petitioner to establish entitlement to the license for the Fair Price Shop and kerosene dealership, which he failed to do.

JUDGMENT

Abhijit Gangopadhyay, J. - The petitioner filed this writ application praying for mandamus for considering its representation being annexure P-8 (which should be annexure P-7, annexure P-8 is not any representation) for granting licence of an M.R. Dealer shop in the District of Alipurduar. He also prayed for a mandamus for setting aside the Government notification No. 2893-FS/SECH/4M-195/2018 dated 12.09.2018 for filling up vacancy of Fair Price Shop Dealer in different places including a Village namely Damanpur in the District of Alipurduar. M.R. Dealer shops are now termed as Fair Price Shops.

2. From the representation of the petitioner dated 18th August, 2017 it is found that the M.R. Shop No. 38 had two partners namely Debabrata Moulik and Ratan Kumar Moulik. After death of one of the partners Debabrata the other partner Ratan, who was unmarried and physically handicapped, by submitting a representation wanted the licence of the M.R. shop to be given in the name of his younger brother Sujit Moulik i.e. the petitioner herein. Ratan expired on 17th December, 2016. (Debabrata, elder brother of the petitioner, expired before Ratan on 29th June, 2013, as is found from annexure P-3 of the writ application).

3. Therefore the case of the petitioner as appears from the writ application is that after the death of the partners namely Debabrata and Ratan he wanted the licence of M.R. Shop and as his representation dated 18th August, 2017 was not considered by the concerned authority, Government should be restrained from filling up the resultant vacancy of Fair Price Shop Dealership and such decision of the government was required to be set aside.

4. The petitioner has submitted that there was an agreement dated 9th March, 1983 between the Governor of West Bengal on one part and Debabrata Moulik and Ratan Moulik on the other, as retailer in food stuffs under the scheme framed by the government for distribution of food stuffs to consumer in the Districts of West Bengal. The petitioner submitted that the state cannot terminate this agreement by any order or notification as it is a contract under Article 299(1) of the Constitution of India.

5. Such submission is wholly without merit as from annexure P-2 of the writ application it is found that a licence was granted in 2005 to one M/s. A.K. Moulik & company having partners Debabrata and Ratan as a Dealer under West Bengal Public Distribution system (Maintenance & Control) Order 2003. This licence dated 30th December, 2005 shows that the agreement between the Governor on the one part and Debabrata and Ratan and the other had no existence in the year 2005 i.e. after lapse of nearly 22 years from the date of the said agreement of 1983. There is no document or pleading that Debabrata and Ratan raised objection as to non existence of the 1983 agreement, on the contrary from annexure P-2 it is found that the said licence was renewed from year to year and endorsement towards renewal in different years is there on the said licence. Debabrata and Ratan, partners of the partnership firm, also had a dealership under West Bengal kerosene control order which was also renewed from time to time as appears from at page 28 and 29 of annexure P-2.

6. Though the petitioner has claimed by making submission from the bar that he is running the Fair Price Shop of A.K. Moulik & Co as a joint family business nothing has been disclosed to show that the petitioner was ever granted any licence of M.R. Shop/ Fair Price Shop as the proprietor or partner of M/s. A.K. Moulik & Co. Nor he was granted any licence for kerosene dealership as partner or proprietor of the above named firm. The Petitioner has also not disclosed any documents showing that it was a joint family business.

It was also never stated by Ratan in his representation dated 19.11.2013 (Annexure P-4) nor any such claim is found by other numbers of the family as is found from a copy of an affidavit dated 30.09.2013 (vide annexure R-2 of the affidav