SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has dismissed a batch of petitions filed by more than two dozen fair price shop dealers challenging the Union Territory Government’s 2023 Public Distribution System (PDS) Control Order, ruling that the new framework does not violate any fundamental or vested right of the petitioners.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal upheld SO 41 of 19 January 2023 after hearing multiple connected petitions filed by dealers appointed under earlier guidelines, particularly the 2016 Fair Price Shop policy. The petitioners had opposed the reduction of ration cards per outlet, the introduction of a five-year renewal fee of Rs 1,000, and the upper age limit of 65 years for licence renewal.
The court held that fair price shops serve primarily as instruments of food security and not as guaranteed sources of livelihood, adding that public interest must prevail over individual commercial expectations. It rejected assertions based on the doctrines of legitimate expectation and promissory estoppel, observing that no enforceable assurance existed in earlier orders regarding fixed numbers of ration cards.
The Bench endorsed the Government’s position that the new control order aligns with national standards under the National Food Security Act and the Targeted Public Distribution System (Control) Order 2015. It found that caps of 1,500 souls or a minimum of 200 ration cards in rural areas and 2,000 souls or a minimum of 300 ration cards in urban areas were based on public convenience and long-standing demands for improved accessibility.
The court also upheld the renewal fee and the age cap, noting that the licence may be transferred to eligible dependants once a dealer crosses 65 years.
Declaring the 2023 Control Order a “complete code”, the Bench concluded that the petitioners had failed to establish any breach of constitutional rights. All writ petitions were dismissed, and related contempt petitions were closed.
