1 2026:CGHC:21592 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPC No. 2324 of 2026 1 - Bhagwan Singh Rathore S/o Shri Vimalram Singh Rathore Aged About 56 Years Occupation In-Charge, Society Manager, Adim Jati Seva Sahkari Samiti, Bharridand, Registration No. 3076, R/o Village Lalpur, Tahsil - Pendra Road, District Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi Chhattisgarh. ... Petitioner(s) versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Secretary, Co-Operative Department, Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar, Nawa Raipur, District Raipur Chhattisgarh. 2 - The Registrar Chhattisgarh Co-Operative Society Indrawati Bhawan Atal Nagar, Nawa Raipur, District Raipur Chhattisgarh. 3 - Managing Director Marketing Federation, Chhattisgarh, Nawa Raipur, District Raipur Chhattisgarh. 4 - District Marketing Officer Gaurela, District Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi Chhattisgarh. 5 - Collector, Gaurela District Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi Chhattisgarh. 6 - Asst. Commissioner/ Asstt. Registrar Co-Operative Society, Gaurela, District Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi Chhattisgarh. 7 - Nodal Officer District Co-Operative Central Bank Limited, Pendra, District Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi Chhattisgarh. 8 - Managing Director Apex Bank Raipur District Raipur Chhattisgarh ... Respondent(s) RAGHVENDRA JAT Digitally signed by RAGHVENDRA JAT 2 For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Ramakant Pandey, Advocate. For Respondent(s)/State : Mr. Abhishek Gupta, Panel Lawyer. For Respondents No. 3 & 4 : Mr. Siddharth Pandey, Advocate. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad Order on Board 08/05/2026 1. By way of this petition, the petitioner has prayed for following reliefs:- “10.1 That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to issue appropriate writ/order/direction, commanding the Respondent No. 2 & 7 to lift and transport the entire remaining stock of purchased paddy as per State policy and tripartite agreement, at the earliest; 10.2 That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondent Authorities to constitute the Committee and compensate the petitioner Society for loss caused due to non-lifting of paddy within prescribed time limit i.e. 31.03.2026; 10.3 That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondent Authorities to compensate for weight-loss paddy and also compensate for loss caused during non-lifting of paddy; 10.4 That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to restrain the respondents/Authorities from taking any coercive action, including the registration of FIRs or recovery proceedings against the Petitioner Society or its office bearers, for variation in quality of paddy resulting from the respondents' inaction to lift/transport the stock; 10.5 That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to 3 grant other relief which may be suitable in the facts and circumstances of the case in the favour of the petitioner.” 2. Brief facts of the case, is that, by way of the present writ petition, the petitioner is not challenging any specific order passed by the respondent authorities, but is aggrieved by the illegal, arbitrary, and negligent inaction on the part of the respondent departments in not lifting the procured paddy from the procurement centre of Adim Jati Seva Sahkari Samiti, Bharridand, Registration No. 3076, in accordance with the terms, conditions, and guidelines issued by the State of Chhattisgarh governing procurement, storage, and transportation of paddy; it is submitted that as per the applicable agreement and the policy guidelines of the State Government, the entire quantity of procured paddy is required to be lifted and transported from the procurement centre within a period of two months from the last date of procurement, i.e., 31.01.2026, and further, whenever the stock exceeds the prescribed buffer limit fixed by the State authorities, immediate lifting and transportation of such excess stock is mandatory; however, despite closure of the procurement centre on 31.01.2026 and lapse of more than two and a half months thereafter, substantial quantity of paddy is still lying at the procurement centre of the petitioner society and the respondent authorities have failed to take any effective steps for its lifting, transportation, or safe storage; according to the petitioner, no proper arrangements or facilities have been provided by the respondent authorities for preservation and safe 4 custody of the stored paddy, and due to changing weather conditions there is imminent likelihood of deterioration, damage, and heavy financial loss to the petitioner society as well as the farmers concerned; it is further submitted that the continued inaction and negligence on the part of the respondent authorities is wholly arbitrary, unreasonable, contrary to the policy guidelines and governing regulations, violative of principles of natural justice, and therefore the petitioner has been constrained to approach this Court by filing the present writ petition seeking appropriate directions against the respondent authorities. 3. 3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that despite closure of the paddy procurement centre on 31.01.2026, the respondent authorities have failed to lift and transport the procured paddy within the prescribed period, due to which substantial quantity of paddy is lying in open storage and is likely to deteriorate because of changing weather conditions, thereby causing huge financial loss to the petitioner society; it is further submitted that despite repeated representations made by the petitioner, no effective action has been taken by the authorities, and therefore the inaction on their part is arbitrary, illegal, and contrary to the policy guidelines issued by the State Government. 4. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of respondents No. 3 and 4 submits that the remaining quantity of paddy lying at the procurement centre of the petitioner society, amounting to approximately 2805.06 quintals, shall be lifted and transported by 5 the concerned authorities at the earliest and preferably within a period of 7 to 10 days, in accordance with the applicable policy and operational procedure. 5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record. 6. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, and further taking into consideration the submissions advanced by the parties, so far as the remaining reliefs sought by the petitioner are concerned, the petitioner is directed to submit an appropriate representation/application before the competent respondent authorities, and upon such application being filed, the concerned respondent authorities shall duly consider and decide the same by passing an appropriate reasoned order strictly in accordance with law within a reasonable period. 7. The said representation/application shall be duly considered and decided by the competent respondent authorities within a period of 30 days from the date of its submission, and till then no coercive action or adverse steps shall be taken against the petitioner in relation to the subject matter of the present dispute. 8. With this observation and direction, the writ petition is disposed of. Sd/- (Amitendra Kishore Prasad) Judge Raghu Jat