Bijay Saha Vs State of West Bengal & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
The Calcutta High Court heard an intra-court appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent against the judgment dated 10.05.2023 whereby the learned Single Judge dismissed the writ petition challenging the order dated 26.10.2021 of the Principal Secretary, Finance Department. The Principal Secretary had set aside the concurrent orders of the Collector and the Excise Commissioner and directed that the excise licence for the Sheoraphully Country Spirit Shop be settled jointly in favour of the appellant and respondent No. 4.
Material Facts and Procedural Background
The excise licence for the Sheoraphully Country Spirit Shop was originally held by Prankrishna Saha, who died in 1971. Following successive temporary settlements, the Collector of Hooghly, by order dated 23.07.2014, finally settled the licence in favour of the appellant, who is the grandson of the original licensee.
Respondent No. 4, the appellant’s brother and another grandson of the original licensee, challenged the settlement. The Collector, by order dated 22.11.2018, upheld the settlement in favour of the appellant, and the Excise Commissioner affirmed that decision on 04.09.2019.
In revision, the Principal Secretary, Finance Department, by order dated 26.10.2021, set aside the concurrent decisions and directed that the licence be settled jointly in favour of the appellant and respondent No. 4. The appellant’s writ petition challenging that order was dismissed by the learned Single Judge on 10.05.2023, leading to the present appeal.
