1 CGHC010207582024 2026:CGHC:33233 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPC No. 3189 of 2024 1 - Smt. Shanti Devi Sahu W/o Jeet Ram Sahu Aged About 42 Years R/o Village Podi Rachha, Block Nawagarh, District : Janjgir-Champa, Chhattisgarh 2 - Jeet Ram Sahu S/o Motilal Sahu Aged About 46 Years R/o Village Podi Rachha, Block Nawagarh, District : Janjgir-Champa, Chhattisgarh ... Petitioners versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Secretary, Department Of Food And Civil Supply Corporation, Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhawan, Capital Complex, Atal Nagar, Nava Raipur, District : Raipur, Chhattisgarh 2 - Director, Food And Civil Supplies Corporation Block- 02, Third Floor, Indrawati Bhawan, Atal Nagar, Nava Raipur, District : Raipur, Chhattisgarh 3 - Collector District Janjgir-Champa, Chhattisgarh 4 - Food Officer District Janjgir-Champa, Chhattisgarh 5 - Sub Divisional Officer (R) Janjgir, District : Janjgir-Champa, Chhattisgarh 6 - Tahsildar Nawagarh, District : Janjgir-Champa, Chhattisgarh ... Respondents RAVVA UTTEJ KUMAR RAJU Digitally signed by RAVVA UTTEJ KUMAR RAJU Date: 2026.08.03 10:37:00 +0530 2 (Cause title is downloaded from CIS Periphery.) For Petitioners : Mr. Achyut Tiwari, Advocate. For State : Mr. Shreyansh Mehta, P.L. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad Order on Board 31/07/2026 1. By way of this petition, the petitioners have prayed for following reliefs:- “10.1 That, this Hon'ble court may kindly be pleased to call for the entire records from the respondent authorities pertaining to the case of the petitioners. 10.2 That, this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to quash/set-aside the impugned show cause notice dated 16.06.2022 (Annexure P-9) and memo dated 22.03.2023 (Annexure P-13) issued by respondent No. 5, in the interest of justice. 10.3 That, this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to quash/set-aside the impugned memo of recovery dated 20.02.2024 (Annexure P-1) issued by respondent No. 6, in the interest of justice. 10.4 That, this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to grant any other 3 relief as it may deems fit and appropriate.” 2. Brief facts of the case is that the Petitioner No. 1 is the elected Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat Podi Rachha, and the petitioners were allotted the Fair Price Shop of Village Podi Rachha, Tahsil Nawagarh, in the year 2020. The petitioners were managing and operating the said Fair Price Shop until January 2022. On the basis of an anonymous complaint, the Tahsildar, Nawagarh and the Food Inspector conducted physical verification of the shop and submitted a report before Respondent No. 5. Without conducting any proper enquiry or affording an opportunity of hearing to the petitioners, Respondent No. 5, vide order dated 07.01.2022, suspended the operation of the Fair Price Shop and attached the distribution work to Gram Panchayat Barbaspur. Thereafter, a show cause notice proposing cancellation of allotment was issued to the petitioners, and on their request, only the enquiry report of the Food Inspector was supplied. However, without conducting any enquiry, proper physical verification, or granting an effective opportunity of hearing, Respondent No. 5 passed the cancellation order dated 20.05.2022. The petitioners were restrained from entering the shop, which was initially attached to Gram Panchayat Barbaspur and subsequently allotted to Gram Panchayat Kotiya. The statutory appeal preferred by the petitioners before the Collector, District Janjgir-Champa, against the cancellation order was also dismissed vide order dated 25.07.2022. Subsequently, 4 on 16.06.2022, after a lapse of nearly six months from the suspension and transfer of the Fair Price Shop, the petitioners were served with a show cause notice alleging non-handover of certain food grains to the subsequent allottee, Gram Panchayat Kotiya. Petitioner No. 2, being the Seller of the Fair Price Shop, submitted a detailed reply dated 27.06.2022 denying the allegations and stating that the shop had been taken over by the authorities without proper handing over of charge from Gram Panchayat Podi Rachha. Despite the said reply, Respondent No. 6, without conducting any enquiry, considering the factual position, or providing an opportunity of personal hearing, issued the impugned memorandum directing recovery of Rs. 12,01,032/- from the petitioners and the then Secretary of Gram Panchayat Podi Rachha. The impugned recovery proceedings are arbitrary, illegal, and contrary to the provisions of the Chhattisgarh Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2017 and the principles of natural justice, as the liability of the petitioners has not been determined through any proper adjudication or enquiry. Hence, the present writ petition. 3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the impugned show cause notice dated 16.06.2022 and the consequential memorandum of recovery dated 20.02.2024 are arbitrary, illegal, and contrary to the facts and circumstances of the case. It is submitted that Gram Panchayat Podi Rachha was operating the Fair Price Shop from April 2020 till January 2022, and on the basis 5 of an anonymous complaint, an enquiry and physical verification were conducted by the Tahsildar, Nawagarh, pursuant to which the allotment of the Fair Price Shop was first suspended and subsequently cancelled. It is contended that the cancellation order itself was passed without conducting any proper departmental enquiry and without granting an effective opportunity of hearing to the petitioners. Thereafter, the shop was handed over to Gram Panchayat Barbaspur on 07.01.2022 and subsequently allotted to Gram Panchayat Kotiya on 13.01.2022. Learned counsel further submits that after a lapse of about six months, the impugned show cause notice was issued alleging non-handover of certain food grains to Gram Panchayat Kotiya, despite the fact that the petitioners were no longer operating the Fair Price Shop after January 2022 and the shop had already been taken over by subsequent Gram Panchayats. Hel further submits that the reply submitted by the petitioners to the show cause notice was not considered and, without conducting any enquiry, physical verification, or affording an opportunity of personal hearing, Respondent No. 6 mechanically issued the impugned recovery memorandum for recovery of Rs. 12,01,032/-. It is argued that after cancellation of the petitioners' allotment, the shop and the food grains were handed over to Gram Panchayat Barbaspur, which operated the shop for about one month, and thereafter the same was handed over to Gram Panchayat Kotiya, which has been operating the shop till date. Therefore, any alleged shortage 6 of food grains, if any, cannot be attributed to the petitioners, who had no control over the Fair Price Shop after January 2022. Learned counsel submits that the impugned recovery proceedings have been initiated in complete violation of the Chhattisgarh Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2017 and the principles of natural justice, as no physical verification of food grains was conducted and no finding of liability was recorded against the petitioners. Reliance is also placed upon the earlier proceedings before this Hon'ble Court in W.P.(C) No. 2986/2023, which was withdrawn with liberty to file a properly constituted petition, and it is submitted that the recovery has been directed merely on the basis of an administrative communication dated 22.03.2023 without any adjudication or opportunity of hearing. Hence, the impugned show cause notice and recovery memorandum deserve to be quashed and set aside. 4. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the State, on instructions, submits that physical verification of the stock relating to the concerned Fair Price Shop has already been conducted by the competent authorities and notices have also been issued in relation thereto; however, no formal proceedings determining liability or recovery have yet been initiated against the petitioners or the concerned operating agency; learned counsel further submits that liberty may be granted to the respondent authorities to initiate appropriate proceedings in accordance with law against the petitioners as well as the concerned agency to whom the Fair 7 Price Shop had been allotted, and thereafter, upon conducting a proper enquiry and affording due opportunity of hearing to all concerned parties, the competent authority shall pass appropriate orders with regard to the alleged shortage/deficit of food grains found at the concerned Fair Price Shop. 5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record. 6. Having consciously considered submissions advanced by learned counsel for the parties, it appears that prior to issuance of the RRC notice, no proceedings as contemplated under law were initiated or concluded. In absence of any determination and fixation of liability, the impugned RRC notice has been issued merely on the ground of deficiency of grains in the fair price shop. Therefore, unless and until liability is duly established in proceedings initiated under the Control Order, 2016, no recovery notice can legally be issued against any person. 7. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, and further taking into consideration the submissions advanced by learned counsel for the State, this Court deems it appropriate to stay the effect and operation of the impugned recovery proceedings/RRC notice for the present; however, the concerned revenue and competent authorities are directed to initiate appropriate proceedings in accordance with law against the petitioners as well as all other persons concerned with the operation and management of the Fair Price Shop, including the agency to 8 whom the licence for running the Fair Price Shop had been allotted, within a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, and thereafter to conduct a proper enquiry by following due process of law and by affording adequate opportunity of hearing to all concerned parties before passing any final order. 8. The parties concerned shall duly cooperate with and assist the competent authorities during the course of the enquiry proceedings, and till culmination of the said proceedings, the effect and operation of the show cause notice dated 16.06.2022 (Annexure P-9) and memo dated 22.03.2023 (Annexure P-13) issued by respondent No. 5 and the impugned memo of recovery dated 20.02.2024 (Annexure P-1) issued by respondent No. 6 shall remain stayed. 9. It is, however, made clear that upon conclusion of the enquiry, the concerned State authorities shall be at liberty to pass appropriate orders in accordance with law for recovery of the amount, if any, found due and recoverable from the persons held responsible. 10. With the aforesaid observations and directions, the present writ petition stands disposed of. Sd/- (Amitendra Kishore Prasad) Judge U.K. Raju