M/S Parmar Rice Mill v. The State Of Bihar And ORS

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.8152 of 2015 ====================================================== M/s Parmar Rice Mill, situated at Village-Kasap, P.S.- Charpokhari District- Bhojpur, through its Managing Director, Sri Hare Ram Singh, S/o Sri Ram Layak Singh. .... .... Petitioner.

Versus

1. The State of Bihar through the District Magistrate, Bhojpur at Ara.

2. The District Certificate Officer, Bhojpur, Ara.

3. The District Manager, State Food Corporation Bhojpur at Ara. .... .... Respondents.

====================================================== Appearance :

For the Petitioner : Mr. Binod Kumar Sinha, Adv. For the BSFC : Mr. Shailendra Kumar Singh, Adv. For the State : Mr. Amish Kumar, AC to AAG-14 ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NAVANITI PRASAD SINGH ORAL ORDER 28-05-2015 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner, learned counsel for the State Food Corporation (hereinafter in short SFC) and learned counsel for the State and with their consent, this application is being disposed of at this stage itself. A certificate proceeding was initiated against the petitioner in which pursuant to notice issued he filed his objection petition. The grievance was that without deciding objection petition straightway a non-bailable warrant has been issued. After considering the matter and after hearing learned counsel for the SFC who could not oppose the proposition that the manner in which the Certificate Officer proceeded was wholly against law. It is now well established by series of judgments of this Court and I believe that the Certificate Officer should be

Patna High Court CWJC No.8152 of 2015 (02) dt.28-05-2015 2/2 educated enough to know the same. Once the objections are filed he has to consider the objections in an objective way and after hearing the parties decide the same by a reasoned speaking order. This is a very valuable and the only right available to a certificate debtor to defend himself. It is a quasi judicial proceeding having drastic consequences.

In that view of the matter, the writ application is allowed. The order dated 13.04.2015 passed by the District Certificate Officer, Bhojpur at Ara in Certificate Case No.18/1415 is set aside and the Certificate Officer is directed to decide the objection in accordance with law as observed above at the earliest. (Navaniti Prasad Singh, J.) Trivedi/- U