JUDGMENT :

1. The present writ petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India with the following prayers:-

I. The letter/order dated 10.3.2018 (Annexure-4) issued by the respondent no.2 rejecting the candidature of the petitioner for allotment of LPG distributorship at Dhariawad, district Pratapgarh may kindly be set aside and the respondents may kindly be directed to allot LPG distributorship at Dhariawad, district Pratapgarh to the petitioner.

II. Any other appropriate order or direction, which this Hon'ble Court considers just and proper in the facts and circumstances of this case, may kindly be passed in favour of the petitioner.

III. Costs of the writ petition may kindly be awarded to the petitioner.

2. Brief facts of the case are that the respondent Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., (hereinafter referred to as HPCL in short) vide its advertisement dated 23.8.2017 (Annexure-R1) invited applications to grant LPG Distributorship under various categories and locations in the state of Rajasthan, for which the petitioner applied for the said LPG distributorship under the Gramin Open Category for location Dhariabad, District Pratapgarh and thus in response to the said advertisement the petitioner submitted an online application form dated 22.09.2017 (Annexure-1) for which the cut off date for submission of form was 25.09.2017. The petitioner proposed/suggested land for the LPG distributorship at Village Undawela which is 3 kms away from the location Dhariabad as mentioned in the advertisement.

3. Thereafter, the petitioner's application was registered as reference No.HPC12110046622092017 and through letter dated 2.12.2017, (Annexure-2) the respondent No.2 Chief Regional Manager, Jodhpur Regional Office, HPCL informed the petitioner that she has been found successful in the draw of lots conducted on 1.12.2017 for selection of LPG Distributorship and was directed to deposit an amount of Rs.40,000/-through Demand Draft/Pay order in favour of HPCL and was also directed to submit certain documents within a period of seven days from the date of receiving the email failing which her candidature would be liable to be rejected.

4. In pursuance to the aforesaid letter dated 2.12.2017, the petitioner submitted letter dated 8.12.2017 (Annexure-3) along with the requisite fees of Rupees forty thousand (DD No.182027 dated 4.12.2017) and 23 documents for the LPG distributorship, including the No objection certificates and consent letters of joint khatedars.

5. The respondent No. 2 Chief Regional Manager, Jodhpur Regional Office, HPCL Vide letter dated 10.3.2018 (Annexure-4), informed the petitioner that the petitioner’s candidature had been canceled for allotment of LPG distributorship as the respondent conducted a field verification for the land suggested by the petitioner located at Village Undawela and examined all the documents submitted by the petitioner and found that the land was in joint khatedari and the partition of the said land had also not been done and secondly the land which the petitioner suggested was situated at Village Undawela and not at the proposed LPG Distributorship location Dhariabad which was against the guidelines for selection of LPG distributorship. Further it was mentioned in the letter that the petitioner was asked for giving an alternate land for setting up of LPG godown but the petitioner informed that she did not have any alternate land. Thus as per the guidelines of the HPCL, the petitioner's candidature was canceled.

6. Aggrieved by the letter dated 10.03.2018 (Annexure-4) passed by the Chief Regional Manager, HPCL on the grounds that the proposed land suggested by the petitioner for establishing godown is in joint khatedari and secondly that the proposed land suggested by the petitioner for opening the showroom is not situated at the location Dhariabad as mentioned in the advertisement, thus on the rejection of her candidature, the petitioner filed the writ petition. Hence this w