7. It is the contention of the learned Counsel for the Petitioner that the
Haj policy creates an artificial distinction between the transfer/conversion of
business and transmission of business which ultimately discriminate on
small operators. The learned Counsel for the Petitioner places reliance on
Ruby Tours Services Pvt. Ltd. vs. Union of India, (2018) 9 SCC 537 to
contend that if a proprietorship which is converted to a private limited
company is allowed to continue with the experience garnered by it while it
was a proprietorship firm, the same should apply to the proprietorship
concerns upon change of the sole-proprietor as well.
"2. DEFINITION OF 'PROPRIETORSHIP FIRMS'
2.2 Proprietorship firms are businesses that are
owned, managed and controlled by one person. They
are the most common form of businesses in India and
are based in unlimited liability of the owner. Legally, a
proprietorship is not a separate legal entity and is
merely the name under which a proprietor carries on
business. [Raghu Lakshminarayanan v. Fine Tubes
(2007) 5 SCC 103.]
Due to this, proprietorships are usually not defined in
statutes. Though some statutes define proprietorships,
such definition is limited to the context of the statute.
"11. A brief reference to the concept of a „sole
proprietor‟ versus the „sole proprietorship concern‟
may not be out of place at this point. A recent decision
of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Amway (India)
Enterprises (P) Ltd. v. Ravindranath Rao Sindhia1
gives a very lucid explanation of the concept, while
relying on an earlier decision, in the following words:
In Ashok Transport Agency
v. Awadhesh [(1998) 5 SCC 567], this Court has
Signature Not VerifiedDigitally Signed By:HARIOMSINGH KIRMOLIYA W.P.(C) 15648/2022 Page 10 of 14Signing Date:10.04.202421:49:31
clearly held that a sole proprietary concern is
equated with the proprietor of the business as
follows:
21. This court in Sushila v. Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd., 2022
SCC OnLine Del 3188 further held that there is no difference between a
proprietor of a sole-proprietorship and the proprietorship itself. The relevant
excerpt is as follows: