Compassionate PDS license claims must be filed within the prescribed statutory period to prevent laches.

The petitioner, Parvati Devi, sought a direction for the restoration of a Public Distribution System (PDS) license originally granted to her father-in-law in 1989.

The father-in-law died on January 27, 2001.

Although the license had been cancelled in 1999 and other similarly situated dealers obtained restoration orders through litigation in 1999 and 2010 (Annexures 2 and 5), the petitioner’s father-in-law did not challenge the cancellation during his lifetime, nor did the petitioner apply for a license immediately upon his death.

The petitioner eventually applied for the license on compassionate grounds on August 1, 2018, approximately 18 years after the death of the original licensee.

1. Whether a claim for a PDS license on compassionate grounds can be entertained after a delay of 18 years.

2. Whether the petitioner is entitled to the benefit of judgments passed in favor of other dealers in previous litigations to which neither she nor her father-in-law were parties.

Section 10 of the Bihar Targeted Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2016, which stipulates that an application for a PDS license on compassionate grounds must be submitted within two years of the death of the licensee by a dependent.

Compassionate appointments or grants are intended to provide immediate succour to a bereaved family and must be claimed within a reasonable time.

The Court reasoned that the petitioner had "slept over her rights" for an inordinately long period.

It observed that while other dealers had successfully challenged the 1999 cancellation order, the petitioner’s father-in-law was not a party to those proceedings, and thus the benefits of those judgments did not automatically accrue to her.

The Court highlighted that the 2016 Control Order creates a strict two-year limitation for compassionate claims, whereas the petitioner applied after 18 years, defeating the object of providing immediate relief.

Since the 1999 cancellation, the statutory framework governing PDS licenses had undergone substantial changes, making restoration at this belated stage administratively unfeasible.

The Court dismissed the Writ petition, holding that the claim was barred by inordinate delay, laches, and statutory limitation.