Sh. Sanjay Sharma v. Union Of India And ORS.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

+ W.P.(C) 153/2019 & CM Nos. 799/2019 & 800/2019 SH. SANJAY SHARMA ..... Petitioner Through:

Mr Rajeev Saxena, Mr Rachit Sahney, Ms Namrata Chauhan and Mr Manish Khurana, Advocates.

versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

..... Respondents Through:

Mr Rajat Navet and Mr Mukul Gupta, Advocates for R-2, 3 and 4.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIBHU BAKHRU

O R D E R

% 11.01.2019 1.

The petitioner has filed the present petition impugning the scheme for "Selection of Dealers for Regular & Rural Retail Outlets" published by the oil marketing companies (respondent nos.2 to 4). The principal grievance of the petitioner is that in terms of the said Scheme, an application for a retail outlet for petroleum products can only be applied only by an online mode. The petitioner contends that the said condition has made the participation for such dealership very restrictive as there are large numbers of persons in rural India who are not familiar with making an online application. The petitioner prays that the respondents be directed to introduce manual registration for the applicants, and the same be widely publicised in the print media and also by launching awareness campaign in rural India. 2.

In view of this court, the present petition is frivolous and bereft of any

merits. Respondent nos.2 to 3 are well within their rights to determine as to the mode in which the applications can be accepted. The fact that the applicant is not familiar with the internet may also be a good reason for not accepting him as a dealer for petroleum products. In any view, no interference with the discretion of respondent nos.2 to 4 is warranted so long as the scheme is open to all eligible persons and the applications are accepted in a transparent manner.

3.

Insofar as giving wide publicity is concerned, the averments made in the petition itself indicate that respondent nos.2 and 3 have been publicizing their scheme widely.

4.

It is also noticed that the petitioner has no personal interest in this, and has filed the present petition claiming to be a social worker. 5.

This Court is of the view that such petitions tend to clog up the board and usurp judicial time, thus depriving other litigants who are waiting to urge their bona fide causes, access to justice. Filing of such petitions must be discouraged. Accordingly, the petition is dismissed with costs quantified at `25,000/-.

The cost shall be deposited with the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee within a period of two weeks from today. 6.

The pending applications are also disposed of. VIBHU BAKHRU, J JANUARY 11, 2019 MK