IMPORTANT POINT
The requirement for registration of a lease deed by a specified cut-off date is a critical eligibility criterion for LPG distributorship applications, and the execution date alone does not suffice to meet this requirement.

ORDER :

Shree Chandrashekhar, J.

Aggrieved by the order dated 22nd March 2024 passed in S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.2932 of 2024, the writ petitioner has filed this Special Appeal under Rule 134 of the Rajasthan High Court Rules read with Article 225 of the Constitution of India.

2. Before the writ Court, a challenge was laid by the appellant to the notice dated 28th December 2023 requiring the appellant to provide registered Power of Attorney on or before 24th May 2023 and the order dated 06th February 2024 by which the appellant was intimated that the lease deed registered after the cut-off date, that is, after 24th May 2023 was not valid as per the guidelines for Selection of the LPG distributorship. Further prayers for a direction to the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, (in short, ‘BPCL’) to accept his application for award of LPG distributorship and for issuing a Letter of Intent (in short, ‘LOI’) in his favour were also made by him. The respondent-BPCL took a stand that in terms of the ‘Manual for Selection of LPG Distributorship’ the land document was required to be registered on or before the last date for submission of the application. This was also an objection raised by the BPCL that the Power of Attorney was required to be compulsorily registered under section 17(1)(b) of the Registration Act, 1908 and, therefore, the lease deed which was not registered prior to the extended last date, that is, on or before 24th May 2023 could not have been accepted.

3. The writ Court did not accept the objection raised by the BPCL as to the requirement for compulsory registration of the Power of Attorney and set aside that part of the order dated 28th December 2023. However, the writ Court did not agree with the appellant that the lease deed which was executed on 23rd March 2023 shall have effect from that date notwithstanding, its registration on a subsequent date, that is, on 27th May 2023. The writ Court held as under -

“9. It is also seen from the Clause 4 of the application for appointment of LPG Distributorship (Annexure-2) filled by the petitioner for allotment of LPG distributorship wherein the Clause 31 of the ‘Manual for Selection of LPG Distributors’ is reiterated regarding the condition of having a registered lease deed from the date of advertisement upto the last date of submission of application form and the petitioner filled the said application for appointment of LPG Distributorship with open eyes and was well aware that he was not fulfilling the eligibility criteria as stipulated in the application. The petitioner despite knowing that he does not have the eligibility in light of Clause 31 of the Manual and Clause 4 of the Application participated in the process. The petitioner has also not given challenge to both the conditions mentioned in the Clause 31 of the ‘Manual for Selection of LPG Distributors’ and Clause 4 of the ‘Application for Appointment of LPG Distributors’ The Clause 4 of the application form is reproduced hereas under -

“provide following details of the plot(s) of land for construction of LPG godown owned or having registered lease for minimum 15 years (4 years 11 months for locations falling under CNT act in Jharkhand) in the name of applicant/member of Family Unit commencing on any date from the date of advertisement up to the last date of submission of application as specified either in the advertisement or in the Corrigendum (if any) and meeting the norms specified.”

20. As discussed above the lease-deed produced by the petitioner qua godown has been registered on 30.05.2023 i.e. much after the last date for receipt of the application i.e. 24.05.2023 and the lease deed qua showroom, was registered on 27.05.2023, which is also after the last date for receipt of the application thus, the decision of the respondents that the land offered by the petitioner is not meeting the eligibility conditions/requirements as stipulated in the advertisement/brochure as per the ‘Manual for Selection of LPG Distri