Kavita Kumari vs The Union of India

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.6671 of 2023
CNR No. BRHC010345022023
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Kavita Kumari W/o Binod Kumar, R/o Mohalla- Niranjan Bigha, Ward No.-
38, P.O. and P.S.- Dehri On Sone, District- Rohtas at Sasaram.
... ... Petitioner
Versus
1. The Union of India through its Secretary, Ministry of Transport and
Highway, New Delhi
2. The Chairperson of National Authority of India (NHAI), New Delhi.
3. The Project Director, National Highway Authority of India, Regional Office,
Patna.
4. The Executive Engineer, National Highway Division Gaya.
5. The State Co-ordinator, Bharat Petroleum, Corporation Limited 3rd Floor
Ashiyama Chamber, Exhibition Road, Patna- 800001.
6. The Territory Manager (Retail), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Pvt. Ltd.,
P.O.- Pakari, Via- Anishabad, Patna- 800002
... ... Respondents
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Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Mukesh Kumar Singh
For the Respondent/s : Mr.Additional Solicitor General
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CORAM: HONOURABLE JUSTICE SMT. G. ANUPAMA CHAKRAVARTHY
ORAL JUDGMENT
Date : 27-10-2026
1. The present Writ petition has been filed for
the following reliefs:
“(i) For issuance of a writ in the
nature of Certiorari or any other
appropriate writ/order/direction to quash
the letter contained in Ref. No.
15453920593068, dated 17.02.2020,
issued under the signature of the Territory
Manager (Retail), Bharat Petroleum
Corporation Limited, Patna, whereby the

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candidature of the petitioner for the award
of retail outlet dealership of Bharat
Petroleum Corporation Limited at the
proposed site within 4 Kilometres of
Indrapuri Police Station towards Dehri-on-
Sone, NH-2C, District Rohtas, at Sasaram,
under the S.C. Category, in respect of the
advertisement dated 25.11.2018, has been
found ineligible on the ground of a road
intersecting NH-2C at a distance of 445
feet and 135 metres from the offered Plot
No. 646 and placed under Category-SC.
(ii) Further, for issuance of a writ in
the nature of Mandamus or any other
appropriate writ/order/direction to
provide/award the retail outlet dealership
of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited at
the proposed Plot No. 646, within 4
Kilometres of Indrapuri Police Station
towards Dehri-on-Sone, NH-2C, District
Rohtas, at Sasaram, under the S.C.
Category, in respect of the advertisement
dated 25.11.2018, with all consequential
benefits.
And/or pass such other order/orders
as your Lordships may deem fit and proper
in the facts and circumstances of the
case.”

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2. The brief facts, as culled out from the Writ
petition, are that on 25.11.2018, a notice inviting
applications for retail outlet dealerships was
published by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
(in short, BPCL), including for the location “within 4
Kilometres of Indrapuri Police Station Tower, Dehri-
on-Sone, District Rohtas, NH-2C” , which was
reserved for the S.C. Category. Applications were
invited from eligible candidates for the award of
retail outlet dealerships of BPCL.
3. The petitioner, being an eligible candidate
under the S.C. Category and having a piece of land
falling under Category 1 at the abovesaid location,
applied along with all the relevant documents, as
required. Her application was considered by the
respondents, and she was selected as a retail outlet
dealer for the abovesaid location vide e-mail dated
04.06.2019. Thereafter, the Head of Territory Office
(Retail), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited,
namely, Manish Garg, issued a letter dated
10.06.2019, directing the petitioner to submit all the
relevant documents. Pursuant to the said letter, the

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petitioner submitted all the relevant documents,
including a copy of her PAN card, supporting
documents relating to the land and its co-owner, and
documents concerning the offered land. Upon
completion of the re-scrutiny of the documents, the
Land Evaluation Committee visited the site on
29.09.2019. However, no evaluation report was
provided to the petitioner. After submission of the
report by the Committee, the Territory Manager
(Retail), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited,
Patna, issued a letter to the petitioner on
22.10.2019, advising her to seek clarification from
the National Highways Authority of India (in short,
NHAI) regarding the suitability of the land offered by
her for setting up a retail outlet, in view of the
observations of the Land Evaluation Committee. On
05.11.2019, the petitioner submitted an application
before the Executive Engineer, NHAI Division, Gaya,
requesting for the issuance of a “No Objection
Certificate” for the award of the BPCL retail outlet
dealership. In response, the Executive Engineer,
NHAI Division, Gaya, vide letter dated 15.01.2020,

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bearing Memo No. 58, provided information, along
with a map, to the Territory Manager (Retail), BPCL,
Patna, regarding the suitability of the land offered by
the petitioner. As per the petitioner's knowledge, no
adverse remarks were made regarding the offered
land.
4. The contents of the Writ petition further
disclose that, all of a sudden, the Territory Manager
(Retail), BPCL, Patna, issued the impugned letter
dated 17.02.2020, whereby the candidature of the
petitioner, for the award of the BPCL retail outlet
dealership at the proposed site was cancelled on the
ground of a road intersecting NH-2C at a distance of
455 feet or 135 metres from the offered land, i.e.,
Plot No. 646.
5. It is the specific contention of the Learned
counsel for the petitioner that the selection for the
dealership was cancelled, without issuing any show-
cause notice or providing any opportunity of hearing
to the petitioner. The petitioner submitted all the
relevant documents in accordance with the
applicable rules and provisions, and therefore, the

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cancellation is illegal and invalid. With the aforesaid
contentions, the Learned counsel for the petitioner
prayed for quashing the order of the respondents
dated 17.02.2020, bearing Ref. No.
15453920593068, issued by the Territory Manager
(Retail), BPCL, Patna, and to allow the Writ petition.
6. A detailed counter affidavit has been filed on
behalf of respondent Nos. 5 and 6. The contents of
the counter affidavit disclose that the Writ petition is
not maintainable, on account of the suppression of
material facts by the petitioner. The contents of
counter affidavit disclose that the impugned order
dated 17.02.2020 clearly states that the candidature
of the petitioner under Group 1 was found ineligible;
however, she was considered for selection under
Group 3, as per the applicable guidelines and
therefore, there is no irregularity, in the order
passed by the Territory Manager (Retail), BPCL,
Patna, and the said fact was deliberately and
intentionally suppressed by the petitioner.
7. The contents of the counter affidavit further
disclose that all Group 3 candidates, including the

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petitioner, were given two opportunities to submit
suitable land in the advertised location/stretch,
meeting all the prescribed criteria, along with the
requisite details of the proposed plot, through the
online portal by 23.06.2022, as per the guidelines,
vide e-mail communications dated 31.11.2021 and
24.03.2022. Neither the petitioner nor any other
applicant from Group 3 availed the said opportunity
by offering suitable land. Consequently, the
advertised location was dropped, as no eligible
candidate was available for selection. It is also
contended that the petitioner did not choose to avail
herself of the opportunity granted by the
respondent-Corporation and further, the Writ petition
was filed with a delay of three months after the
location of the retail outlet had been dropped by the
respondent-Corporation.
8. The contents of the counter affidavit further
disclose that, as per the selection brochure, the Land
Evaluation Committee conducted an evaluation of
the land offered by the petitioner on 29.09.2019 in
the presence of the petitioner and her

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representatives and found that the proposed land
did not meet the NHAI norms. Thereafter, as per the
guidelines, the petitioner was granted 90 days to
seek clarification from the NHAI regarding the
presence of two intersecting roads located at
distance of 100 metres from the offered plot towards
Indrapuri Police Station and 290 metres from the
offered plot towards Dehri. The NHAI, through the
map annexed to its letter dated 15.01.2020,
confirmed the presence of an intersecting road near
the proposed land, which intersects NH-2C. Hence,
the petitioner's candidature under Group 1 was
rejected due to non-compliance with the NHAI
norms, and she was placed under Group 3. Despite
giving opportunities to offer suitable land under
Group 3, the petitioner did not respond and
therefore, the Learned counsel for the respondents
prays to dismiss the Writ petition.
9. Heard the Learned counsel for the petitioner
as well as the Learned counsel for the respondents.
Perused the records.

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10. Upon perusal of Annexure-5, i.e., the letter
dated 22.10.2019 addressed by the Territory
Manager, BPCL, to the petitioner, vide Reference No.
15453920593068, it is evident that the observations
of the Land Evaluation Committee have been
mentioned in the said letter, which reads as follows:
“We wish to inform you that the Land
Evaluation Committee has the following
observation with respect to your offered
land.
Road within 100 mtrs from offered
land towards Indrapuni Police Station.
Road within 290 mtrs from offered
land towards Dehri.
You are advised to seek clarifications
from NHAI on the suitability of your offered
land for putting up the Retail Outlet with
regard to the observations of LEC, as
mentioned above, and submit the
clarification to us by 29-Jan-2020.
In case you fail to obtain clarification
as noted above from NHAI and submit the
same to our office at the address
mentioned below by 29-Jan-2020, your
offered land is liable to be rejected.”

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11. It is the contention of the Learned counsel
for the respondents that as per annexure 5, the
detail of the land evalution committee and the
observation made by them and as per Annexure-9,
i.e., the letter dated 23.08.2021 addressed by the
Regional Manager (Retail), BPCL, Patna, to the
petitioner, it is evident that the proposed land,
comprising Khata No. 95, Plot No. 646, Mouza-
Shankarpur, vide letters dated 19.02.2020,
21.02.2020 and 18.08.2021, was inspected by the
department on 25.09.2019. As per the Dealer
Selection Guidelines, 2018, an e-mail was sent to the
petitioner on 22.10.2019 to obtain clarification from
the NHAI regarding the suitability of the plot.
However, the petitioner could not submit the
clarification from the concerned NHAI regarding the
suitability of the land. Therefore, the petitioner was
not entitled to consideration under Group 1 and was
shifted to Group 3 under the Dealer Selection
Guidelines.
12. Admittedly, the petitioner has not produced
any document showing that she obtained the

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requisite clarification from the concerned officers of
the NHAI regarding the suitability of the land. As the
petitioner did not submit the clarification, she was
shifted from Group 1 to Group 3.
13. Considering the facts and circumstances of
the case, this Court does not find any error or
irregularity in the decision of the respondent-BPCL
authorities in shifting the petitioner from Group 1 to
Group 3. If the petitioner is not interested in availing
the relief under Group 3, she cannot seek any relief
under Group 1, as she did not submit any
clarification from the NHAI. Further, the BPCL has not
selected any third party for the land, as no eligible
candidate has been found suitable. Therefore, the
proceedings have been dropped. This Court is,
therefore, of the considered view that there is no
infringement of the fundamental rights of the
petitioner or violation of the principles of natural
justice in the present case.
14. With the above observations, the Writ
petition is hereby dismissed as being devoid of
merit.

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15. Interlocutory application(s), if any, shall
also stand disposed of.
(G. Anupama Chakravarthy, J)
Shanu /-
AFR/NAFR NAFR
CAV DATE NA
Uploading Date 02.11.2026.
Transmission Date NA