MUMBAI: Quashing an order of the Deputy Commissioner (Food Supply) cancelling the licences of four women bachat groups, running a ration shop, the Bombay High Court last week pulled up the Maharashtra government for acting against the motto of empowering women. The HC accordingly, restored the licences of the bachat groups from Ahmednagar district in the state.
A bench of Justice Bharati Dangre was hearing the petitions filed by the four bachat groups through advocate Shaikh M A Jahagirdar, challenging the decision of the Deputy Commissioner taken in April 2013.
The deputy commissioner had cancelled their licences on the ground that a salesman engaged in the businesses of shop, was arrested by food supply department for stocking the ration supplied by the state government at subsidised rates.
Taking note of the facts of the case, the bench said, "In the wake of the aforesaid factual position, it cannot be said that the fair price shops run by the groups demand a serious action of cancellation of their permit or authorization particularly when the fair price shops authorization is granted to the Mahila Bachat Gats with an object of uplifting of women in the village/society."
The bench further noted that a criminal court had acquitted all the accused persons of the said charge, being not convinced by the case of the prosecution that they have committed an offence under the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act.
"Thus, there is no reason why the Bachat Gats should be made to suffer the serious consequences of cancellation of their authorization. The irregularities being noticed in the inspection report, are not grave and serious, in terms of the policy of the state government," the bench said.
The bench took exception to the approach of the authorities in the matter against women groups.
"I cannot refrain myself from commenting upon the approach of the state authorities right from the level of the Tahsildar to the highest level of the state government," Justice Dangre said, adding, "It is necessary to take note of the prevailing status of women in this country, where every endeavour is made on all fronts by equipping them with the tools they need to have power and control of their own lives and when the policy of the government is to encourage their empowerment, so that they become independent and develop the ability to make strategic choices in all areas of their lives and would take this country ahead in securing gender equality by their sustainable development."
"Woman empowerment being the motto of the state, in utter contrast, in this case the state authorities have undermined the four bachat gats and in a flippant manner have deprived them an opportunity of empowering several women in rural area who had come together and formed a bachat gat who was allotted authorization to run the fair price shop," the bench added.
The judge further said that this is a matter of serious concern about the whole approach against the bachat gats, who in a perfunctory manner were discouraged and deprived of the authorization granted in their favour on clumsy and a non-existent grounds.
