M/s. Yugal Kishore Rastogi vs The State of Bihar and Others

Heard learned Counsel for the petitioner. The petitioner is a licensee under the Bihar Trade Articles (Licenses Unification) Order. His shop was inspected. In pursuance of some delinquency having been found, his licence was suspended by order dated 3.6.1987. The order communicated to the petitioner by Annexure-1 was that his licence shall remain suspended until the disposal of confiscation proceeding in terms of section 6A of the Essential Commodities Act. The order suspending the licence until the disposal of the confiscation proceeding was per se illegal. It cannot be doubted that the present case is one of an interim suspension. Clause 11(2) of the Bihar Trade Articles (Licences Unification) Order lays down that during the pendency of a proceeding for cancellation of licence or pending contemplation of proceeding for cancellation of licence the licence may be suspended for a period not exceeding ninety days. Ninety days have already expired in the instant case. In that view of the matter, the interim suspension of the petitioner''s licence is hereby quashed. The application is allowed accordingly.