The court emphasizes fair opportunity for compliance and due process in administrative oversight of agency operations.

JUDGMENT

Dated this the 1 5 t h day of January, 202 6

1. The petitioner has filed this Writ Petition seeking a writ of mandamus, directing Respondents 1 and 2 not to interfere with the regular conduct of the gas agency business run by the petitioner as an agent of the 1^st respondent, pursuant to Ext.P3 Notice.

2. The case of the petitioner is that the LPG distributorship was granted to her father, Sri. G. Vaikundam, and he had been conducting the gas agency. On his death, the petitioner has been conducting the gas agency. There are certain disputes between the petitioner and her sister, who is the third respondent. Now, after the issuance of Ext.P3 Show Cause Notice alleging certain discrepancies, the respondent- Corporation is threatening to take coercive steps to stop the gas agency, alleging that the petitioner has not uploaded certain documents which are not presently in her possession. The petitioner has submitted Ext.P4 Representation in answer to Ext.P3.

3. The learned Standing Counsel for the respondents 1 and 2, on instructions, submitted that as per the agreement executed by the distributor with the oil marketing company, the distributor is required to upload necessary documents periodically on the web portal of the oil marketing company. Since the petitioner has been running the LPG distributorship, it is for her to upload those documents. If the petitioner does not upload the documents, the oil marketing company has every right to stop the LPG distributorship.

4. The learned Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the agency has been running since 1985 in the premises belonging to Kannan Devan Plantation, presently owned by Tata Tea Limited, and the petitioner requires some time to obtain the documents and produce the same.

5. Considering the fact that the gas agency has been functioning since the year 1985 and the petitioner has been continuing the same after the death of the original dealer who was her father, I deem it fit to grant three months’ time to the petitioner to obtain the documents to the satisfaction of the oil marketing company and upload the same to the website of the 1^st respondent. Accordingly, I dispose of this Writ Petition, directing the 2^nd respondent to consider and dispose of Ext.P4 Representation submitted by the petitioner in answer to the Ext.P3 Show Cause Notice, after giving a period of three months to the petitioner to obtain the necessary documents in support of Ext.P4. After three months, the 2^nd respondent shall dispose of Ext.P4 Representation within a further period of two months, after giving an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner.

Sd/-