O R D E R

The instant petition has been filed for the grant of the following substantive relief(s):

“ That impugned order dated 7.1.2021 i.e.

Annexure P-7 may kindly be quashed and set aside in the interest of justice, because the respondents No. 4 and 5 have illegally and arbitrarily and in violation of relevant provisions of law, rules and notification has declined petitioner co- operative society i.e. Pragtisheel Co-operative Consumer Store Co-operative Society Ltd. To allot fair price shop/consumer store in favour of the petitioner society.

ii) That the respondents may kindly be directed to allot fair price shop in favour of Pragtisheel Co-operative Consumer Store Co-operative Society Ltd at village Manwa, Post Office Sanora, Sub Tehsil Pajhota (Nohri) Tehsil Rajgarh District Sirmour, H.P. in the interest of justice and fair play.

Iii) That respondents may also directed to reconsider the case of the petitioner society for allotment to petitioner soceity fair price shop/consumer store at village Manwa, Post Office Sanora, Sub-Tehsil Pajhota (Nohri), Tehsil Rajgarh, District Sirmour, H.P., in the interest of justice.”

2. Petitioner is a registered society under Co- operative Societies Act situated at village Manwa, Post Office Sanora, Sub Tehsil Pajhota, Tehsil Rajgarh, District Sirmour, H.P.

3. According to the petitioner-society, the consumers availing the benefits under Public Distribution System, were not at all satisfied with the services of the salesman of the depot of the Food and Civil Supplies department and made complaint to this effect, but to no avail.

4. Therefore, the petitioner-society itself applied for opening of a fair price shop at village Manwa, wherein majority of members were having ration cards. Despite this, their prayer for opening of fair price shop was illegally rejected by the respondents vide order dated 7.1.2021, constraining them to file the instant petition.

5. Respondents No. 2 to 6 have contested this petition by filing reply, wherein preliminary objections regarding maintainability of the petition has been raised on the ground that the petitioner has not exhausted an alternate remedy of appeal available under Clause 17 of the Himachal Pradesh Specified Essential Commodities (Regulation of Distribution) Order, 2019. In addition, the detailed reasons have been set out by these respondents in the reply as to why the request of the petitioner cannot be acceded to.

6. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the material placed on record.

7. At the very outset, it needs to be observed that merely because conduct and working of the salesman of the depot in question is not proper, as alleged, cannot by itself be a ground to close down the depot, as it is being run by a government agency, i.e. respondent No. 3.

8. In addition to the aforesaid, it needs to be noticed that as per the Rules, a Fair Price Shop (FPS) is generally to be opened for a population of 1500 or above, and in tribal, remote and inaccessible/sub-cadre areas, as defined by the Govt. of Himachal Pradesh, these norms can be relaxed up to a population of 1,000 or 150 ration cards, whichever is less, but the population of existing Fair Price Shop should not come down below the above prescribed limit. The norms should also be such that no consumer shall generally have to travel a distance of more than 3 kilometers to the nearest Fair Price Shop. The distance will be certified by the Public Distribution Committee (PDC), headed by the Deputy Commissioner of the district concerned. The Public Distribution Committee shall forward only such cases to the Director Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Shimla, H.P. for relaxation from the Government of H.P. that have population coverage of less than 1,500 to 1,000 as the case may be. More than one fair price shop may be opened in any place without distance clause if the existing as well as proposed Fair Price Shop shall both have population coverage of 1,500 or above or 1,0