Ashok Kumar alias Ashok Chandra Bhushan vs State of U.P. and Another

M. Katju, J.—The Petitioner was granted lease dated 14.6.1984 for 10 years for exercising fisheries rights over a pond situate in village Dunai, Tehsil Sadar, district Mirzapur. He has filed this petition claiming renewal of the lease deed on the basis of the G.O. of the State Government dated 6.7.1987, true copy of which is Annexure-4 to the writ petition which states that if the conduct of the lessee for 10 years has been good, then the lease deed shall be renewed in his favour. in my opinion, this clause is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India because it virtually creates a monopoly in favour of the lessee who will keep on getting the lease rights again and again forever. It is well settled that Article 14 of the Constitution applies in such cases according to which there should be equal opportunity for every one to make a bid. The property in question is not the private property of the Petitioner but a public property. Hence everyone has a right to bid once the period of lease of the Petitioner haw expired, and the Petitioner has only a right to bid in the open auction like everybody else and he cannot claim preferential rights. Hence I direct that the fisheries rights for the said pond should be advertised in well-known newspaper, at least one in English and one in Hindi, which have wide circulation and thereafter the lease should be granted in favour of the highest bidder.

With these observations this petition is finally disposed off.