Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Sujoy Pattanayak vs Union Of India & Ors on 24 June, 2019
Author: Debangsu Basak
Bench: Debangsu Basak
1
In The High Court At Calcutta
Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction
Appellate Side
Present : The Hon'ble Mr. Justice Debangsu Basak
W.P. No.7854 (W) of 2019
Sujoy Pattanayak
-vs-
Union of India & Ors.
Mr. Golam Mastafa
Mr. Tarasankar Samanta ...for the petitioner.
Mr. Sourav Mondal
... for the respondent nos.1 to 3.
Mr. Puspendu Chakraborty Mr. Debabrata Sen ... for IOCL.
Heard on : June 24, 2019 Judgment on : June 24, 2019 The Court:- The petitioner seeks a direction upon the respondent no.4 not to grant a petrol pump licence in favour of the respondent no.7.
Learned advocate appearing for the petitioner submits that, by a notification dated July 24, 2013, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways stipulated that, there cannot be two petrol pumps within 150 meters of each other. The petitioner has an existing petrol pump. The Oil Company is proposing to award a petrol pump licence in favour of the respondent no.7. The location of such petrol pump is within the stipulated 2 restricted area under the notification dated July 24, 2013. Therefore, applying the restriction of the notification dated July 24, 2013, the Oil Company should not grant the licence in favour of the respondent no.7.
Learned advocate appearing for the Oil Company submits that, the Oil Company is proposing to grant licence on a State Highway. The notification dated July 24, 2013 relates to a National Highway and is not applicable when an Oil Company is considering grant of petrol pump licence on a State Highway. In support of his contentions, he relies upon 2014(6) ADJ 270 (Deepak Agarwal v. State of U.P.) and 2018(3) ADJ 611 (Mukesh Yadav v. State of U.P. & Ors.).
There exists a petrol pump in favour of the petitioner. The Oil Company is proposing to grant licence for another petrol pump in favour of the respondent no.7, which admittedly comes within the restricted area in terms of the notification dated July 24, 2013.
The notification dated July 24, 2013 was issued by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. It relates to National Highways. The predecessor of the notification dated July 24, 2019 was considered in Deepak Agarwal (supra). The Allahabad 3 High Court found that, there was no substance in the contention that, a notification issued in respect of a National Highway will apply to a State Highway also. The notification dated July 24, 2013 itself was considered by the Allahabad High Court in Mukesh Yadav (supra) when their Lordships found that, such a notification did not apply to a State Highway.
In view of the ratio laid down in Deepak Agarwal (supra) and Mukesh Yadav (supra), no interference is called for. Nothing is placed on record to take a contrary view. The notification dated July 24, 2013 does not apply to a State Highway besides which, the Oil Company is proposing to grant the licence in favour of the respondent no.7.
W.P. No.7854 (W) of 2019 is dismissed without any order as to costs.
Urgent website certified copies of this order, if applied for, be made available to the parties upon compliance of the requisite formalities.
(Debangsu Basak, J.) SR