Biju Mahanta Borsaikia @ Biju Borsaikia And Anr vs. The Oil INDIA Corporation Limited And 4 Ors

Held

The Court held that the Guidelines for Reconstitution of LPG Distributorship, specifically Clause 3.7, permit reconstitution with other legal heirs or family members of the deceased proprietor with the consent of those not joining. The Court found that the reconstitution process had commenced with the deceased proprietor's mother (a legal heir) and the petitioners. Following the mother's demise, her legal heir(s) are equally entitled to be partners. The Court noted that Clause 3.7 does not restrict reconstitution to only the first legal heir. Therefore, the Court directed the respondents to reconstitute the LPG distributorship in terms of the communication dated January 12, 2021. The petitioners were directed to submit a fresh proposal within one month, and the authorities were instructed to include all legal heirs of the late mother of the deceased sole proprietor in the reconstitution process.

Facts

The petitioners, wife and son of the deceased sole proprietor of an LPG distributorship (M/s Oil Valley Gas Concern, Makum), sought to reconstitute the distributorship in their favour. Previous litigation involved the deceased proprietor's mother, who was also a legal heir. The Court had previously directed reconstitution with the petitioners and the mother. However, the mother expired during the pendency of a subsequent writ petition. The Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) subsequently issued a communication on January 12, 2021, rejecting the petitioners' proposal for reconstitution, stating it was not submitted jointly with the legal heirs of the deceased mother. IOCL advised submitting a new proposal with the willing legal heirs of the mother, or supporting documents if they were unwilling.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioners, as legal heirs of the sole proprietor, are entitled to the reconstitution of the LPG distributorship solely in their names, as per Clause 3.7 of the Policy Guidelines for Reconstitution of LPG Distributorship 2018? Petitioner's argument: The petitioners contended that they are the legal heirs of the sole proprietor and, following the demise of the proposed partner (the deceased proprietor's mother) before reconstitution was finalized, there is no provision for including the legal heirs of the proposed partner. They argued that only the legal heirs of the sole proprietor are required for reconstitution. Revenue's (IOCL) argument: IOCL argued that the reconstitution process was almost finalized, and the earlier reconstitution is deemed complete. Therefore, upon the death of the mother, her legal heir(s) are entitled to be included as partners. They relied on Clause 2.6.5 of the Guidelines and pointed out that the communication dated January 12, 2021, rejecting the petitioners' proposal, has not been challenged.