1 CGHC010319992026 2026:CGHC:36764 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPC No. 4284 of 2026 1 - Maa Samlai Mahila Samiti Dansara Through Its Voice- President Smt. Padmabai Goswami, W/o Prahlad Giri Goswami, Aged About 65 Years, R/o Village Dansara, Tahsil Sarangarh, District Sarangarh- Bilaigarh (C.G.) 2 - Kalyani Giri Goswami W/o Shivnarayan Goswami Aged About 45 Years R/o Village Dansara, Tahsil Sarangarh, District Sarangarh- Bilaigarh (C.G.) 3 - Kaushlya Bai Mehar W/o Bhanu Prasad Aged About 44 Years R/o Village Dansara, Tahsil Sarangarh, District Sarangarh-Bilaigarh (C.G.) 4 - Gouri Bai Goswami W/o Baijnath Goswami Aged About 75 Years R/o Village Dansara, Tahsil Sarangarh, District Sarangarh-Bilaigarh (C.G.) 5 - Pusha Bai W/o Bairagi Mehar Aged About 47 Years R/o Village Dansara, Tahsil Sarangarh, District Sarangarh-Bilaigarh (C.G.) ... Petitioner(s) versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Secretary Department Of Panchayat And Rural Development, Mahanadi Bhawan Mantralaya, Nawa Raipur, Atal Nagar, District Raipur (C.G.) 2 - Collector Sarangarh, District Sarangarh-Bilaigarh (C.G.) 3 - Sub Divisional Officer (Revenue) Sarangarh, District Sarangarh- Bilaigarh (C.G.) 4 - Food Inspector Sarangarh, District Sarangarh-Bilaigarh (C.G.) 5 - Smt. Padmavati Sahu W/o Late Laxman Sahu Aged About 75 Years President Maa Samlai Mahila Samiti Dansara, Tahsil Sarangarh, District Sarangarh-Bilaigarh (C.G.) Digitally signed by AMIT PATEL 2 6 - Sarpanch Gram Panchayat Dansara, Tahsil Sarangarh, District Sarangarh-Bilaigarh (C.G.) ... Respondent(s) For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Tapan Kumar Chandra, Advocate For Respondent(s) : Mr. Soumitra Keshwarni, PL Hon’ble Mr. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad Order on Board 18/08/2026 1. The petitioners have filed this petition with the following reliefs:- “ 10.1 That this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to call for the entire records relating to this case. 10.2 That this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to allow the petition and set aside impugned termination order of Fair Price Shop (I.D. No. 412003086) Village- Dansara, Sarangarh and attach the said shop to village Panchayat Bataupali “B” vide order dated 20.02.2026 (Annexure P/1) in the interest of justice. 2. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that no enquiry as envisgaged under the Chhattisgarh Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2016 (for short, “the Control Order, 2016”), has been conducted before passing the impugned order dated 20.02.2026 passed by respondent No. 3/Sub-Divisional Officer 3 (Revenue), Sarangarh. It is further submitted that the fair price shop allotted to the petitioner-society has been terminated solely on the basis of the statement made by the President of the society expressing her inability to operate the fair price shop. Learned counsel submits that the said statement was a unilateral decision of the President and could not, by itself, be treated as the decision of the society as a whole, particularly when the other members of the society are willing to operate the fair price shop. It is, therefore, contended that the termination order dated 20.02.2026 passed by respondent No. 3/Sub-Divisional Officer (Revenue) could not have been passed without considering the willingness of the other members of the society and without conducting the requisite enquiry in accordance with the provisions of the Control Order, 2016. 3. Learned State counsel submits that the President of the petitioner- society, being responsible for its affairs, had expressed her inability to operate the fair price shop. Accordingly, the competent authority rightly passed the termination order dated 20.02.2026, which suffers from no illegality warranting interference by this Court. 4. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and upon due consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case and the provisions contained in the Control Order, 2016, the concerned authorities are directed to initiate the proceedings, record the statements of the concerned parties and pass an appropriate 4 order in accordance with law, without being influenced by the earlier order dated 20.02.2026 passed by respondent No. 3/Sub- Divisional Officer (Revenue), Sarangarh. It is made clear that this shall not mean that the concerned society shall have an opportunity to run the fair price shop. The same shall be decided after a decision is taken by the Sub-Divisional Officer (Revenue), Sarangarh. The other society shall be permitted to carry out the fair price shop until and unless a final order is passed by the Sub- Divisional Officer (Revenue), Sarangarh, District Sarangarh- Bilaigarh (C.G.). The aforesaid exercise be completed within a period of 30 days from the receipt of copy of this order. 5. With this observation and direction, this petition stands disposed of. SD/- (Amitendra Kishore Prasad) Judge AMIT PATEL