Allahabad High Court Raps UP Authorities for Suspending Fair Price Shop on RSS Letter

The Allahabad High Court at Lucknow bench has stayed the suspension of a Fair Price Shop (FPS) license in Gonda district, terming the action as prima facie concerning and hinting at external interference in administrative decision-making.

The bench of Justice Pankaj Bhatia passed the interim order on July 16, 2025, in a writ petition filed by Manoj Kumar, a licensed ration dealer whose FPS license was suspended by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Colonelganj, on June 30. Court directed that the suspension and any further inquiry against the petitioner shall remain stayed until further orders.

The petitioner’s counsel told the court that the suspension was triggered by a complaint made by one Dinesh Shukla, who was not even a beneficiary of the shop. Crucially, the court was informed that the complaint was forwarded to the Food Commissioner through an official email from an office bearer of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur.

The internal government correspondence revealed that the RSS functionary explicitly instructed authorities to conduct a thorough probe into the shop, terming the allegations as endorsed by senior Sangh leadership. In response, state officials marked the complaint for immediate action and initiated proceedings, bypassing procedural safeguards mandated under state guidelines.

According to the writ petition and official letters, the SDM’s decision was allegedly influenced by the RSS letter, despite the complainant not being from the shop's jurisdiction.

The high court expressed concern over such influence, stating orally in court that, “There is rule of law in the State... Government and administration should not be dictated from Nagpur", as per the counsel for the petitioner. 

The petitioner also pointed out that more than 35 out of 52 cardholders had provided positive feedback during inquiry, and discrepancies claimed in the complaints were not reflected in the POS (Point of Sale) machine data.

Court directed the petitioner to implead the complainant, Dinesh Shukla, and granted four weeks’ time to the Standing Counsel to file a counter affidavit. It also gave the petitioner two more weeks thereafter to submit a rejoinder.

The case will be taken up again after six weeks.

Advocates Ashish Kumar Singh and Shakeel Qureshi appeared for the petitioner. 

Case Title: Manoj Kumar vs State of UP