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Range			 Bid amount	Monthly quota of
				     arrack announced
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			 Rs		Litres
Sultan Battery (18 shops)     50,43,000	    1350.00
Kalpetta (15 shops)	      51,11,000	    2353.00
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8. The respondent deposited 30 per centof the bid amount (Rs 15,12,900) as required by rules and also executed the counterpart agreements on the same day. He took out licences and commenced the business. The monthly quota announced for the shops was regularly supplied. There is no complaint on that score. The complaint is only about non- supply of additional quantities applied for by the respondent from time to time which could not be fully met by the Government. The respondent has filed a statement showing particulars of licence fee, monthly quota, additional supplies demanded and supplies for the previous two years, for the year 1981-82 as well as for the subsequent year. It is, however, necessary to mention that the Sultan Battery range comprises 28 shops out of which the respondent had taken only 18 shops; similarly Kalpetta range comprises 18 shops, out of which the respondent had obtained only 15. The particulars in the following table are furnished for all the 28 shops in Sultan Battery and all the 18 shops in Kalpetta :

Year Range of shops Bid amount Monthly Addl.Addl.
qota quota quota supplieddemandedsupplied
----------------------------------------------------------- 1979- Kalpetta (13 shops)45,96,00034,8001,45,5001,45,500 S. Battery (9 shops)60,01,00025,2001,52,7001,52,700
------------------------------------ 1,05,97,0060,0002,98,2002,98,200 1980- Kalpetta (13 shops)50,76,00034,80040,0001,29,650 S. Battery (9 shops)70,01,00025,15050,0001,51,400
--------------------------------- 1,20,77,0059,95090,0002,81,050 1981- Kalpetta (18 shops)64,23,00034,8004,58,2001,04,200 S. Battery (28 shops)77,03,00025,2004,10,00077,250
------------------------------------- 1,41,26,0060,0008,68,2001,81,450 1982- Kalpetta (18 shops)42,01,00034,8002,05,864 S. Battery (28 shops)52,01,00025,2002,28,205
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94,02,00060,0004,34,069 *For Feb. & March application for additional quota was Kalpetta Battery Supply nil (The increase in the number of shops in each range, it is stated, makes no difference, since the area remains the same. Only the number of shops has gone up.)

17. May be that the monthly quota fixed in these cases is unrealistic in the sense that with that quantity it is not possible for the licensees to do the business and pay the amount agreed to be paid by them. We may also agree that the discretion vested in the Assistant Excise Commissioner by Rule 8(1) has to be exercised in a fair and reasonable manner. But all that only means that the available supplies will be distributed equitably among the licensees. The said sub-rule can in no event be read as creating an obligation upon the State to supply the quantities demanded by the licensee even if no such supplies are available. In this case the State has not contented itself by 5 (1975) 2 SCC 633 supplying the monthly quota alone; it supplied whatever additional quantities it could. There is no grievance on this score. It is not the case of any licensee that the State did not supply arrack to them even though it was available with it nor is there any complaint of inequitable distribution in any of these cases. If we look at the figures relating to the year 1981-82, this fact becomes evident. As against the supply of 1,29,650 litres of additional supplies for Kalpetta range during the previous excise year (1980-81), the Government supplied 1,04,200 litres (in addition to the full monthly quota) during the year in question (1981-82) the shortfall is only about 25,000 litres for the whole range. In the case of Sultan Battery as against the previous year's additional supplies of 1,51,400, the supplies during the relevant year were 77,250 (in addition to the full monthly quota). We do not, however, know what portion of this additional supplies were made to the 18 shops of the respondent in Sultan Battery since the particulars furnished relate to the entire 28 shops in that range and not separately to the 18 shops of the respondent. Even so the additional supplies (in addition to the full supply of monthly quota) are half that of previous year. In such state of facts, reliance upon Rule 6(14) is of no avail. Not only monthly quota was supplied in full for the whole of the year, additional quantities were also supplied to a substantial extent. If so, there is no question of the licensees not being able to observe the requirement of Rule 6(14). Nor is there any room in the above facts for importing the plea of frustration of contract or for that matter, the principle of Section 55. In the absence of a legal right to claim additional supplies, the arguments based on Sections 55 and 56 of Contract Act cannot be countenanced. In this context, it appears relevant to note that the demand of the respondent for additional quota during the excise year 1981- 82 has been highly exaggerated, as the particulars in the Table (supra) would indicate. This was done probably with the full knowledge that there is shortage of availability of arrack. It is reasonable to assume that the respondent hiked up his demand artificially to create a case, and to create evidence in support of his case, in the writ petition. Otherwise there is no explanation for the said excessive demand three times the previous year's demand. Be that as it may, the indisputable factual position is that the Government has supplied whatever it could. The question that arises is whether in such a situation the licensees are entitled to any remission or abatement in the licence fee and other amounts payable under the contract. The answer must be in the negative.