Read Time: 11 minutes

Justice Mousumi Bhattacharya of the Calcutta High Court on Thursday dismissed a plea challenging the constitutionality of West Bengal government’s meal scheme Duare Ration Scheme. The Scheme aims to deliver essential food to the doorstep of citizens holding ration cards. (Duare = at the door)

The Court was hearing a plea by petitioners who are fair price shop dealers who seek a declaration that the Scheme is ultra vires the Constitution of India and for a writ of Mandamus on the state and the Director, Food Supplies Department, Government of West Bengal, to cancel the Scheme.

The petitioners submitted that the State cannot frame any Scheme in relation to distribution of ration items - a subject already occupied by a Central Government Order passed under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and the National Food Security Act, 2013.

The petitioners contended that a central legislation is superior and that the intention of the Parliament to cover the whole field is a relevant factor for deciding the question of conflict between the two order/ schemes.

The petitioners also placed emphasis on the concept of ‘competent legislation with a superior efficacy’ evincing an intention to cover the whole field in relation to a particular legislation.

Per Contra, the State, urged co-existence of both the Orders without any prospect of a conflict.

Further, the State contended that the issues raised in the instant writ pleas were decided by the co-ordinate Bench in the case of Mrityunjoy Garang & Ors. vs. State of West Bengal & Ors, wherein a writ plea was dismissed challenging the Scheme.

The Court dismissed the submission stating that in Mrityunjoy Garang, a pilot project in the form of certain guidelines framed by the Government of West Bengal for the implementation of the Duare Ration Scheme, was challenged.

However, iin this case, a challenge was made to West Bengal Duare Ration Scheme, 2021 which came into force with effect from November 16, subsequent to the judgment in Mrityunjoy Garang.

The Court differentiated between the two orders noting that under the Central government order the delivery of the foodgrains to the Fair Price Shops starts from the Food Corporation of India godown and ends at the Fair Price Shops.

The Order does not contain any clause which contemplates delivery of the foodgrains or essential commodities to the doorstep of the consumer from the Fair Price Shops.

It noted that in contrast, the Duare Ration Scheme of the Government of West Bengal clarifies in Clause 2(e) that the Scheme entails the fair price shop dealer being under an obligation to deliver ration at the doorstep of the ration card holder.

Justice Bhattacharya further noted that the National Food Security Act, 2013, carves out a wider and a defined space for the State Government to give effect to the “Targeted Public Distribution System” as defined under Section 2 (23) of the said Act.

For example, Section 12 - Reforms in Targeted Public Distribution System - indicates that the State Government is an equal partner in the matter of doorstep delivery of foodgrains to the Targeted Public Distribution System outlets.

Whereas, the State Government is made responsible under Section 24 for implementation and monitoring of the schemes of the Central Government together with their “own schemes” for ensuring food security to the targeted beneficiary.

The concept of occupying the field arises where the field occupied leaves no space for any subsequent legislation to cover the same field. The jostling for space pre-supposes a conflict between the two legislations, such that the conflict cannot be reconciled in favour of one to the exclusion of the other, the Court said.

It further said that the same conflict is also felt at the level of compliance where it is not possible to obey one without disobeying the other. The concept is thus one of encroachment of a common space by a later entrant resulting in an eclipse of the field already covered.

“The last leg of the distribution journey hence does not admit of any clash or fight for space with the Central Government Order,” the Court noted.

The Court further pointed out that the Duare Ration Scheme was born out of the restrictions imposed on the mobility of ordinary citizens during the pandemic. It may be envisaged as an extension of the across-the-board initiatives to deliver essentials at the doorstep of consumers.

The noticeable trend during the period of lockdown was the exponential increase in online delivery of goods to consumers without the consumers having to physically travel for purchasing such goods.

The Scheme can hence be seen as a step in the direction to help ordinary ration card holders to tide over the difficulties in the wake of the pandemic, the bench held.

“From this perspective, the Duare Ration Scheme may be perceived as a reform in the targeted public distribution system and a welfare scheme formulated for reaching food and nutritional security as a necessity-driven measure to tide over the extant existential challenge.”

Thus the Court did not find any basis to declare the West Bengal Duare Ration Scheme, 2021, ultra vires the Constitution of India or to cancel the Guidelines preceding the said Scheme on the grounds enumerated in the present writ petitions.

Cause Title: Sheikh Abdul Majed v. State of W.B.