Wanju Kumari @ Vanju Kumari vs The State of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.10694 of 2023
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Wanju Kumari @ Vanju Kumari Wife of Rajesh Thakur Resident of Village-
Siswa Kharar, Ward no.13. Police Station-Kalyanpur, District-East
Champaran.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
1. The State of Bihar Through the Principal Secretary, Food and Civil Supply
Department, Government of Bihar, Patna.
2. The Commissioner Cum Revisional Authority, Tirhut Division, Muzaffarpur
3. The District Magistrate/ Collector, District-East Champaran at Motihari.
4. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate Cum Licensing Authority, Chakiya District-
East Champaran.
5. The Block Supply Officer, Kalyanpur, District-East Champaran.
... ... Respondent/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Advocate
For the Respondent/s : M/s S. Raza Ahmad AAG 5
Alok Ranjan, AC to AAG 5
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CORAM: HONOURABLE JUSTICE SMT. G. ANUPAMA CHAKRAVARTHY
ORAL JUDGMENT
Date : 20-07-2026
1. The petitioner has filed the Writ
petition for the following reliefs:
“for issuance of a writ in the
nature of certiorari or any other
appropriate writ(s), order(s),
Direction(s), for quashing the order
dated 10.04.2023 passed by the Id.
Court of Divisional Commissioner, Trihut
Division, Muzaffarpur in PDS Revision

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Case no. 314/2022 whereby and where
under the Revision Case filed by the
petitioner against the order of the
District Magistrate dated 09.02.2022,
has been rejected and further prays for
quashing the order dated 09.02.2022
whereby the District Magistrate refused
to recommend the case of the petitioner
for grant of Fair price shop under Public
Distribution System and the petitioner
further prays for issuance of
consequential writ in the nature of
Mandamus commanding and directing
the licensing authority (respondent no.
4) to issue license in favour of the
petitioner and/or for issuance of such
other order/orders, direction/directions
to which the petitioner may be found
legally entitled to in the facts and
circumstances of the case as stated
hereinafter."
2. The brief facts culled out of the petition

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are that the petitioner is the daughter of Late
Bhagirath Thakur, who was a licensed Fair Price
Shop (PDS) dealer of Village Siswa Khara,
Panchayat Siswa Khara, Block Kalyanpur, District
East Champaran, holding Licence No. 45/2007.
3. Late Bhagirath Thakur had no son and
was survived by three daughters. While the
petitioner's two sisters were married and residing
in their matrimonial homes, the petitioner
continued to reside with her father along with her
husband. She had been assisting her father in
running the Fair Price Shop and managing his
affairs for several years and was wholly dependent
upon him. The petitioner and her husband were
shown as members of the deceased's family in the
ration card. Her Aadhaar Card, PAN Card and Voter
Identity Card also establish her residence in the
same village. Certificates issued by the Mukhiya,
Sarpanch, Ward Member and Panchayat Samiti
Member further certify that the petitioner had been
managing the PDS shop during the lifetime of her
father. Her two sisters have also furnished no-

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objection certificates in support of her claim.
4. Following the death of her father, the
petitioner applied for compassionate allotment of
the PDS licence. The Block Supply Officer, after
conducting a detailed enquiry, submitted a
favourable report vide Letter No. 40 dated
12.05.2021 recommending her appointment after
verifying all relevant documents, including her
educational qualifications, family certificate,
character certificate, death certificate and other
eligibility documents.
5. The petitioner has passed Intermediate
Examination and also possesses an Advance
Diploma in Computer Application. She fulfils all the
eligibility conditions prescribed under the Bihar
Targeted Public Distribution System (Control)
Order. She neither owns any commercial
establishment nor does any member of her family
hold Government employment. She does not suffer
from any statutory disqualification.
6. However, the District Compassionate
Committee, by its decision dated 09.02.2022,

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rejected her claim solely on the ground that a
married daughter is not entitled for compassionate
allotment under the Bihar Targeted Public
Distribution System (Control) Order, 2016.
Aggrieved thereby, the petitioner initially
approached this Hon'ble Court in CWJC No. 8592 of
2022. The writ petition was permitted to be
withdrawn with liberty to avail the statutory
remedy before the Divisional Commissioner.
7. Pursuant thereto, the petitioner
preferred PDS Revision Case No. 314 of 2022
before the Divisional Commissioner, Tirhut
Division, Muzaffarpur. The revision was also
dismissed by order dated 10.04.2023, affirming the
rejection solely on the ground that the petitioner is
a married daughter. The aforesaid orders are under
challenge in the present writ petition.
8. The Learned counsel for the petitioner
submits that the impugned orders are wholly
arbitrary and unsustainable in law as the
petitioner's claim has been rejected solely on the
basis of her marital status, without examining her

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actual dependency or eligibility.
9. It is submitted that the authorities have
completely ignored the favourable enquiry report
submitted by the Block Supply Officer, which
specifically found the petitioner eligible and
recommended grant of the licence after
verification of all relevant records.
10. The Learned counsel further submits
that dependency is essentially a question of fact
and cannot be determined merely on the basis of
whether the claimant is married. Once it stood
established that the petitioner was residing with
the deceased licence holder, was dependent upon
him and had been assisting him in operating the
Fair Price Shop, her claim could not have been
rejected by applying an inflexible rule based solely
on marriage.
11. It is further submitted that exclusion of
a married daughter from compassionate allotment
amounts to discrimination on the ground of sex
and marital status and violates Articles 14 and 15
of the Constitution of India. A married son

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continues to remain eligible for compassionate
appointment if otherwise dependent upon the
deceased. There exists no intelligible differentia for
denying the same benefit to a married daughter
who stands on an identical footing.
12. The Learned counsel also places
reliance upon Letter No. 16973 dated 10.12.2014
and Letter No. 14157 dated 09.11.2017 issued by
the General Administration Department,
Government of Bihar, whereby married daughters
have been recognised as members of the family
and eligible dependants for compassionate
appointment. It is submitted that these policy
decisions reflect the constitutional mandate of
equality and ought to have been given due effect
while considering the petitioner's claim.
13. It is lastly submitted that the object of
the compassionate scheme is to provide
immediate financial assistance to the family of the
deceased licence holder. The petitioner, being the
only daughter who remained with and cared for her
father and who had been managing the Fair Price

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Shop during his lifetime, squarely satisfies the
object and purpose of the scheme. The authorities
have defeated the very purpose of compassionate
allotment by rejecting her claim solely because she
is a married daughter.
14. Accordingly, it is prayed that the
impugned orders dated 09.02.2022 and
10.04.2023 be set aside and the respondents be
directed to reconsider the petitioner's claim for
compassionate allotment of the Fair Price Shop
licence in accordance with law, without treating
her marital status as a disqualification.
15. The Learned counsel appearing for the
respondents submits that the impugned orders do
not suffer from any illegality or arbitrariness and
have been passed strictly in accordance with the
provisions of the Bihar Targeted Public Distribution
System (Control) Order, 2016.
16. It is submitted that after the death of
the petitioner's father, the petitioner's application
for compassionate allotment of the Fair Price Shop
licence was placed before the District

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Compassionate Committee, East Champaran. The
Committee, in its meeting held on 09.02.2022,
considered the petitioner's claim and found that
she was not eligible under Clause 10 of the Bihar
Targeted Public Distribution System (Control)
Order, 2016, as she is a married daughter of the
deceased licence holder.
17. The Learned counsel for the
respondents submits that Clause 10 specifically
provides the order of preference for compassionate
allotment of a Fair Price Shop licence and includes
only the wife/husband, son, unmarried daughter,
daughter-in-law and widow of the son of the
deceased licence holder. Since the petitioner is
admittedly a married daughter, she does not fall
within the category of eligible dependants
contemplated under the statutory provision.
18. It is further submitted that before
taking a decision, the Department sought
clarification from the Food and Consumer
Protection Department, Government of Bihar,
which, by Letter No. 5231 dated 02.12.2021,

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directed the authorities to consider applications
strictly in terms of Clause 10 of the Control Order,
2016. Accordingly, the District Compassionate
Committee rejected the petitioner's claim in
conformity with the statutory provisions and the
Government's clarification.
19. The Learned counsel for the
respondents further submits that the petitioner
availed the statutory remedy by filing PDS Revision
Case No. 314 of 2022 before the Divisional
Commissioner. Upon consideration of the records,
the Divisional Commissioner, by a reasoned and
speaking order dated 10.04.2023, affirmed the
decision of the District Compassionate Committee
and held that the petitioner's claim was rightly
rejected under Clause 10 of the Control Order.
20. It is, therefore, contended that the
authorities have merely implemented the statutory
provisions as they stand and have not acted
beyond or contrary to the Control Order. In the
absence of any challenge to the validity of the
statutory provision or any violation of the

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prescribed procedure, no interference is warranted
in exercise of the writ jurisdiction under Article 226
of the Constitution of India, and prayed to dismiss
the Writ petition as devoid of merits.
21. Having heard the Learned counsel for
the parties and upon perusal of the materials
available on record, this Court finds that the
petitioner's claim for compassionate allotment of
the Fair Price Shop licence has been rejected solely
on the ground that she is a married daughter and,
therefore, does not fall within the category of
dependants specified under Clause 10 of the Bihar
Targeted Public Distribution System (Control)
Order, 2016.
22. The records disclose that the
authorities have not disputed the petitioner's claim
that she had been residing with the deceased
licence holder, was assisting him in running the
Fair Price Shop and had applied within the
prescribed period. The rejection of her claim rests
exclusively upon the interpretation of Clause 10 of
the Control Order.

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23. For proper appreciation of the
controversy, Clause 10 of the Bihar Targeted Public
Distribution System (Control) Order, 2016, is
reproduced hereinbelow:
“ 10. A fair price shop license
on Compassionate Ground.
In case of death of a fair price
shop's licensee under the age of 58 (fifty
eight) years, his shop may be allotted in
order of priority to his/her wife/husband,
son, unmarried daughter, daughter-in-law,
and widow of his son. If there are out of
these more than one dependent, all the
other are required to forsake their claim in
favour of one through an affidavit. The
application in this regard shall be
entertained, if submitted within two years
from the date of death of the licensee by
his dependent. If granted, such a fair price
shop license shall be a new license, and it
shall be permissible for further
compassionate ground license, but if any
member of the family of the deceased
licensee is a government servant or holds a
post of profit in the government, such a
family shall not get benefit of
compassionate ground."

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24. Per contra, the petitioner has placed
reliance upon the recent decision of the Hon'ble
Supreme Court in Kulsum Nisha vs. State of
U.P. & Others , reported in 2026 SCC OnLine SC
1059 , wherein the Apex Court has held in
paragraph 23 as follows:
"We are, therefore, of the
considered view that the exclusion of
married daughters from the definition of
"family" fails the test of reasonable
classification and is manifestly arbitrary.
The distinction created by Paragraph IV(10)
of the G.O. lacks any intelligible differentia
having a rational nexus with the object of
the scheme. The exclusion is founded
solely upon marital status and gender
stereotypes and consequently, violates
Articles 14 and 15(1) of the Constitution of
India."
25. This Court finds that neither the
District Compassionate Committee nor the
Revisional Authority has considered the effect, if
any, of the legal principles laid down by the
Hon'ble Supreme Court on the interpretation and

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application of Clause 10 of the Bihar Targeted
Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2016.
The impugned orders proceed only on a literal
reading of the provision without examining
whether the constitutional principles governing
equality and non-discrimination, as explained by
the Hon'ble Supreme Court, have any bearing on
the petitioner's claim.
26. Since the said issue has not been
examined by the competent authority in the light
of the law relied upon by the petitioner, this Court
is of the view that it would not be appropriate to
undertake such an exercise for the first time in the
present writ proceedings. The competent authority
ought to have an opportunity to consider the
petitioner's case afresh after taking into account
the statutory provisions as well as the subsequent
declaration of law by the Hon'ble Supreme Court.
27. Accordingly, without expressing any
final opinion on the merits of the rival contentions
or on the applicability of the aforesaid judgment to
the facts of the present case, this Court considers

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it appropriate to remit the matter to the Licensing
Authority for fresh consideration. The Licensing
Authority shall independently examine the
petitioner's claim in accordance with law, keeping
in view the provisions of the Bihar Targeted Public
Distribution System (Control) Order, 2016 and the
judgments relied upon by the petitioner, and shall
pass a reasoned and speaking order after affording
an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner within a
period of three months from the date of
receipt/production of a copy of this order.
28. The writ petition stands disposed of
with the aforesaid observations and directions.
29. Interlocutory Application(s), if any,
shall stand disposed of


(G. Anupama Chakravarthy, J)
Spd/-
AFR/NAFR NAFR
CAV DATE NA
Uploading Date 24.07.2026
Transmission Date