1 2026:CGHC:22109 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPC No. 5343 of 2022 1 - Ma Durga Women Self Help Group- Kesari Through President Smt. Shail Kumari W/o Shri Ayodhya Prasad Aged About - 46 Years, President Of Ma Durga Women Self Help Group - Kesari R/o Village - Kesari Police Station And Tahsil - Raghunathnagar District - Balrampur - Ramanujganj Chhattisgarh ... Petitioner(s) versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through - The Secretary, Department Of Food And Civil Supply Mahanadi Bhawan New - Raipur District - Raipur Chhattisgarh. 2 - The, Collector (Food Department) Balrampur District - Balrampur - Ramanujganj Chhattisgarh. 3 - The, Sub - Divisonal Officer (Revenue) Wadrafnagar District - Balrampur - Ramanujganj Chhattisgarh. 4 - The Food Inspector - Wadrafnagar District - Balrampur - Ramanujganj Chhattisgarh. 5 - Government Faire Price Shop Raghunathnagar Police Station And Tashil - Raghunathnagar District - Balrampur - District - Balrampur - Ramanujganj Chhattisgarh ... Respondent(s) For Petitioner(s) : Mr. A.N. Pandey, Advocate. For Respondent(s)/State : Mr. Soumitra Kesharwani, Panel Lawyer. RAGHVENDRA JAT Digitally signed by RAGHVENDRA JAT 2 Hon’ble Mr. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad Order on Board 11/05/2026 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 set aside of impugned order dated 21.11.2022 ANNEXURE P/1 issued by the respondent no.3 and allow the petitioner to continue for operating of fair price shop of village- Kesari Balrampur- Ramanujganj (C.G) Tahsil- Raghunathnagar Distt- Balrampur- Ramanujganj (C.G.). 10.2 Any other relief or reliefs may also be granted to the petitioner which this Hon'ble court deems fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.” 2. Brief facts of the case, is that, the petitioner, namely Ma Durga Women Self Help Group, Kesari, is a duly registered women self- help group constituted under the Vihan Scheme, and the petitioner herein is the President of the said Self Help Group situated at Village Kesari, Block Raghunathnagar, District Balrampur-Ramanujganj (C.G.); it is submitted that vide order dated 25.02.2010, respondent No. 3 allotted the Fair Price Shop of Village Kesari in favour of the petitioner group, and pursuant thereto the petitioner has been continuously and regularly operating the said Fair Price Shop since February 2010 without any interruption and without any complaint or allegation of 3 irregularity whatsoever; it is further submitted that the respondent authorities were regularly inspecting the Fair Price Shop of the petitioner from time to time and during such inspections no irregularity or violation was ever found in the functioning of the shop, nor was any adverse instruction or order issued against the petitioner group; according to the petitioner, during an inspection conducted in the month of October 2022, the concerned authority did not find any irregularity in the operation of the Fair Price Shop, however, a report was submitted alleging that a male salesman had been appointed in the shop, and solely on the basis of the said report respondent No. 3 issued a show cause notice dated 31.10.2022 to the petitioner; it is submitted that after receipt of the said notice, the petitioner submitted a detailed reply clarifying that the Fair Price Shop was being operated by the members of the petitioner group itself and that no irregularity whatsoever had been committed in the operation of the shop, however, despite the said explanation and without conducting any proper enquiry or verifying the factual position, the authorities proceeded to suspend the Fair Price Shop allotted to the petitioner group; it is further submitted that even in the month of November 2022 essential commodities continued to be allotted in the name of the petitioner group and the petitioner continued to operate the shop, thereby demonstrating that there was no actual irregularity or violation in the functioning of the shop; according to the petitioner, the impugned action of respondent No. 3 is arbitrary, illegal, mala fide, 4 and contrary to the procedure established under law, as the order has been passed without proper enquiry, without recording statements of members of the petitioner group, and without there being any cogent material establishing any violation on the part of the petitioner; it is also contended that the action has been taken only with an intention to harass the petitioner and to facilitate allotment of the Fair Price Shop to some other person of choice, and therefore the impugned order deserves to be set aside by this Hon’ble Court. 3. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submits that the petitioner Self Help Group has been lawfully operating the Fair Price Shop allotted to it since the year 2010 and throughout this long period no complaint or allegation of irregularity had ever been found against the petitioner group during inspections conducted by the respondent authorities; it is further submitted that even during the inspection conducted in October 2022 no irregularity whatsoever was detected in the functioning of the Fair Price Shop and the only allegation raised was regarding engagement of a male salesman, which by itself could not constitute a valid ground for suspension of the Fair Price Shop without proper verification and enquiry; learned counsel submits that immediately upon receipt of the show cause notice dated 31.10.2022, the petitioner submitted a detailed reply specifically stating that the members of the petitioner group themselves were operating the shop and no violation of any rule or condition had been committed, however, 5 the respondent authorities failed to consider the explanation submitted by the petitioner and proceeded to pass the impugned order in a wholly arbitrary and mechanical manner; it is contended that no proper enquiry was conducted, no statements of the members of the petitioner group were recorded, and no material establishing any irregularity in the operation of the Fair Price Shop has been brought on record; learned counsel further submits that even after issuance of the impugned order, essential commodities continued to be allotted to the petitioner in the month of November 2022, which itself demonstrates that the authorities did not genuinely find any illegality in the functioning of the petitioner’s shop; it is therefore argued that the impugned action is violative of principles of natural justice, arbitrary, mala fide, and contrary to law, and has been taken only with an oblique motive to harass the petitioner group and to facilitate allotment of the Fair Price Shop to some other favoured person; accordingly, it is prayed that the impugned order deserves to be quashed and the petitioner be permitted to continue operation of the Fair Price Shop in accordance with law. 4. Learned counsel for the respondents would not oppose the submissions made by learned counsel for the petitioner. 5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record. 6. Considering the provision under Order 16(1) of the Control Order, 2016, the time period prescribed for concluding the proceedings is 6 of 3 months, the Respondent No. 3/ Sub-Divisional Officer (R) is directed to conclude the proceedings in terms of Order 16(1) of the Control Order, 2016, within a further period of 30 days from the date of receipt of copy of this order. It is further directed that till the proceedings before the Respondent No. 3/ SDO (R) are concluded, status quo, as it exits today, shall be maintained. 7. With the aforesaid observation and direction, the writ petition stands disposed of. Sd/- (Amitendra Kishore Prasad) Judge Raghu Jat