ORDER
Binod Kumar Roy and Lakshmi Bihari, JJ.
1. The petitioner M/s. Mithilesh Kumari and Sons, has come up with a prayer to quash the order of suspension/show cause notice issued by the District Supply Officer. Bulandshahr dated 10.2.2000 appending a copy of which as Annexure-3 to this writ petition.
2. Sri Sunil Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner, on the question of admission of this writ petition, contended as follows :
(i) The impugned order/show cause notice has been issued on the basis of mere registration of a criminal case under Section 3/7 of Essential Commodities Act ;
(ii) The police after investigating the said case submitted a final form which Is pending grant of sanction before the District Magistrate, Bulandshahr.
Thus, the impugned order/ show cause notice be quashed.
3. The facts stated in the impugned suspension order/show cause notice speak for themselves. It is stated therein that on receipt of complaints that kerosene oil is not correctly distributed to the ration holders and the same is sold out in the black market by the petitioner, under the directions of the District Supply Officer, Bulandshahr through the Inspector (Supply) an enquiry was got made at 5.30 p.m. of 19.2.2000 during which its Proprietor’s son Pradeep Kumar fled away after downing the shutter of the shop ; that even though at 1.30 p.m. of that very day, one thousand litres of kerosene oil were received In the shop two drums of only 400 litres of kerosene oil were found ; that the stock and sale registers available in the shop, were seized ; that from the aforementioned enquiry, it is clear that the shopkeeper has not brought 600 litres of kerosene oil to the shop but has sold out them in black market, which is clear cut violation of the provisions of U. P. Kerosene Control Order, 1962 and the U. P. Essential Commodities Distribution Order, 1990, which being punishable offences under Section 3/7 of the Essential Commodities Act an F.I.R. was got registered with Police Station Kotwali, Bulandshahr. The other part of the order is not being reproduced.
4. The submissions made by Sri Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner, are not at all tenable as it is not based on mere registration of the first information report.
5. The Preamble of the Constitution talks of providing economic justice to its citizen. Providing essential commodities through fair price shop by the
Government is to secure achievement of the avowed object mentioned in the Preamble aforementioned. By and large kerosene oil is being used by persons belonging to poor and/or middle class as they cannot afford consuming electricity and gas which are much costly in consumption as compared to kerosene oil. In our society violation by those who have been fastened with the responsibility of setting essential commodities in a fair way has increased many fold. They are required to be dealt with by heavy hands and no leniency is required to be shown to those who indulge in black marketing and/or the abettors. We are prima facie convinced that the licence of the petitioner in the background has been rightly suspended.
6. We are not at all impressed either by the second submission that since final report after investigation by the police has been submitted, therefore, the order of suspension and the show cause notice should be quashed for the simple reason that firstly seal of the Collector of the District is yet to be affixed in regard to the correctness of the investigation of the police and its conclusion and secondly, a final report is required to be scrutinised by the regular criminal court.
7. Both submissions having failed this writ petition is dismissed in limine.
8. We hope and trust that the Collector will act in accordance with law and full caution before proceeding to grant his sanction and that when the matter reaches to the criminal court it will scrutinise the investigation with an open mind.
9. The office is directed to hand over a copy of this order by tomorrow to Smt. Sarita Singh, the learned standing counsel, for its immediate communication to the Collector, Bulandshahr, who will also send a X-rox copy of the order received from her to the criminal court concerned along with his orders not granting/granting sanction.