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HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT JAMMU
MR. JUSTICE RAHUL BHARTI, J
Bishnah Cooperative Medical – Appellant
Versus
State Of J&k – Respondent
OWP No. 1636/2016 c/w OWP No. 1647/2015 WP(C) No. 4305/2019
(A) Government Order No. 492-HME of 2008 - Allotment of Fair Price Shops - The court held that allotment of shops within Government premises, particularly hospital premises, must comply with the Government Order No. 492-HME of 2008, and any prior allotments are void. (Paras 14, 15)
(B) Writ Jurisdiction - The court emphasized that the allotment process must adhere to established guidelines and cannot be circumvented by disguised entities exploiting public premises. (Paras 14, 15)
Facts of the case:
The petitioner sought to cancel the allotment of Fair Price Medical Shops made to two respondents, claiming it was illegal under the Government Order No. 492-HME of 2008. The court previously directed that no allotment be made without following this procedure.
Findings of Court:
The court found that the Bishnah Cooperative Medical Consumer Store was unlawfully occupying the shop premises without proper auction or bidding process, leading to the dismissal of two writ petitions and the allowance of the third.
Issues: The main issues included the legality of the allotment process and the authority of the Government Order No. 492-HME of 2008.
Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that all allotments prior to the Government Order are void, reinforcing the necessity of following proper procedures for allotment in public premises.
Result: Writ petition OWP No. 1647/2015 allowed; OWP No. 1636/2016 and WP
(C) No. 4305/2019 dismissed.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. petitioner seeks cancellation of allotment (Para 2 , 3) |
| 2. petitioners claim relief to prohibit (Para 4 , 5 , 6 , 7) |
| 3. court directed listing (Para 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 14 , 16 , 17) |
| 4. all petitions carry same subject matter (Para 13) |
| 5. court held allotments void (Para 15) |
JUDGMENT :
01. Heard.
02. Writ petition OWP No. 1647/2015 came to be filed by the petitioner-Surinder Sharma on 04.11.2015 by reference to six respondents named therein with the respondent No. 5 and the respondent No. 6 being Bishnah Medical Cooperative Consumer Store Limited, Bishnah and Amar Bishnah Cooperative Medical Store, Bishnah.
03. Through this writ petition, the writ petitioner-Surinder Sharma came seeking a direction unto the official respondents to cancel the allotment made in favour of said two respondents i.e. Bishnah Medical Cooperative Consumer Store Limited, Bishnah and Amar Bishnah Cooperative Medical Store, Bishnah for running of Fair Price Medical Shop within the premises of Sub-District Hospital, Bishnah as being illegal and contrary to Government Order No. 492-HME of 2008 dated 17.06.2008.
04. In this writ petition, notice came to be addressed to the respondents. In terms of an order dated 29.08.2017, the writ court came to direct no allotment of any shop in the new hospital premises to be made without following the procedure in terms of Government Order No. 492-HME of 2008 dated 17.06.2008.
05. While the writ petition OWP No. 1647/2015 came to be so instituted and was pending, a writ petition OWP No. 1636/2016 came to be preferred by two petitioners with the petitioner No. 1- Bishnah Cooperative Medical Consumer Store, Bishnah acting through its Secretary Anuj Sajgotra who joined as the petitioner No. 2. The institution of this writ petition came to take place on 15.11.2016.
06. In this writ petition, the two petitioners came claiming the relief to the extent to prohibit the writ respondents, four in number, from cancelling the purported allotment of the petitioner No. 1’s Fair Price Shop in the premises of the Sub-District Hospital, Bishnah under the name and style Bishnah Cooperative Medical Consumer Store, Bishnah and further to command and direct the writ respondents not to auction the shop so run by the petitioner No. 1 and also further seeking quashment of a complaint titled “Surinder Sharma Vs. Director Health Services, Jammu” pending before the J&K State Vigilance Commission.
07. The four writ respondents in the writ petition OWP No. 1636/2016 are State of J&K, as it was then, through its Commissioner/Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department, the Director Health Services, Jammu, the Deputy Director Health Services (HQ) Jammu and the Block Medical Officer (BMO), Sub-District Hospital, Bishnah.
08. By virtue of an order dated 17.11.2016 passed in the writ petition OWP No. 1636/2016, the writ court came to direct status quo on spot, obtaining on the said date, to be maintained while putting the respondents to notice.
09. The institution of aforesaid two writ petitions came to be joined by institution of 3rd writ petition WP(C) No. 4305/2019 filed by the sole petitioner-Bishnah Cooperative Medical Consumer Store, Bishnah acting through its Secretary Anuj Sajgotra. Thus, last two writ petitions came to be filed by same principal petitioner, namely, Bishnah Cooperative Medical Consumer Store, Bishnah.
10. This 3rd writ petition came to be filed on 25.10.2019. In this writ petition, the two respondents came to be State of J&K through Financial Commissioner, Health & Medical Educational Department and the Director Health Services, Jammu.
11. In this 3rd writ petition, the sole petitioner sought a writ of mandamus unto the respondents, in particular, the Director Health Services, Jammu to consider and pass an appropriate order allotting the petitioner an alternative space for shifting and relocation of Fair Price Cooperative Medical Consumer Store in the premises of the newly constructed building of the Sub District Ho
Allotments of shops in government premises must comply with established guidelines, and prior allotments are void if not conducted according to the relevant government order.
Allotments of Fair Price Medical Shops in government premises must comply with Government Order No. 492-HME of 2008, rendering prior allotments void.
The establishment of fair price shops is a policy decision of the State Government; guidelines are not legally binding rights. Existing license holders cannot claim exclusive operation rights in over....
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