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SUNITA AGARWAL, PRANAV TRIVEDI
JENAMBEN FIROZ JHOKIYA – Appellant
Versus
BHARAT PETROLEUM CORPORATION LIMITED – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
PRANAV TRIVEDI, J.
1. The present Letters Patent Appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent is preferred by the appellant-original petitioner assailing the correctness and validity of the order dated 15.02.2024 passed by the learned Single Judge in Special Civil Application No. 15934 of 2023.
2. The prayers made by the appellant-original petitioner in the writ petition before the learned Single Judge was to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction to quash and set aside the order dated 28.08.2023 passed by the Executive Director (Retail), Bharat Petroleum Corporation-respondent No. 3.
3. The learned Single Judge, after considering the arguments of both the parties was pleased to observe that the writ court is not supposed to sit in appeal over the findings recorded by the competent Appellant Authority and/or to re-appreciate the evidence for itself. When the evidence is based on satisfactory or sufficient fact, then no interference would be required to exercise extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. In the wake of such observations, the writ petition preferred by the appellant-original petitioner was dismissed.
4. The factual matrix
Judicial review in technical matters is limited; courts should defer to expert findings unless proven arbitrary or unreasonable.
The judgment established that administrative decisions based on misreading of documents, ignorance of evidence, and without recording reasons are arbitrary and violative of principles of natural just....
The court emphasized the necessity of adhering to principles of natural justice in administrative actions, ruling that reliance on undisclosed evidence rendered the termination of the dealership arbi....
Termination of dealership - Action of termination against critical irregularities has to be approved by Regional Head/State Head/Zonal Head of the Oil Company (General Manager and above) and in respe....
The court upheld the cancellation of a diesel sale license due to confirmed tampering of dispensing units, establishing the dealer's responsibility for maintaining equipment integrity.
Termination of dealership without adhering to procedural guidelines and principles of natural justice is unlawful.
The court ruled that termination of a dealership based on unproven allegations of tampering, despite intact seals, violated principles of natural justice and was arbitrary.
The presence of unauthorized fittings in a dispensing unit constitutes a breach of the dealership agreement, justifying termination of the dealership.
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