‘Petitioners can’t insist on converting fair price shops to Govt controlled depots’

 STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: In bunch of petitions seeking prohibition restraining the state from opening new fair price shops in Jammu Division on the ground that the same is in violation of the Cabinet Decision dated 16th July, 2014 and also seeking writ of mandamus directing the respondents not to bifurcate the ration cards pertaining to the petitioners’ fair price shops, Justice Alok Aradhe of J and K High Court Jammu Wing observed that petitioners have no legal right to insist that fair price shops should be converted to Government controlled depots. “The policy decision has been taken by the State Government to cater to needs of 20 lakh additional beneficiaries and this Court cannot interfere with the policy decision merely on the ground that another view is policy”, the court also observed.
Advocate N.D Qazi appeared for the petitioners while Advocate General Jahangir Iqbal Ganai represented the State.
Dismissing the petitions, Justice ALok Aradhe held that petitioners in no way affected by implementation of new policy as they would continue to run the fair price shops on commission basis. Otherwise also, the petitioners neither have any legal or fundamental right to be appointed as an agent of a fair price shop under a Government scheme, therefore, the petitioners cannot seek a writ of mandamus to enforce the decision taken by the Cabinet on 16th July, 2014, which did not culminate into an order as required under Section 45 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and which otherwise stands superseded by an order of the State Government dated 4th August, 2016.