A Bareilly court has put a stay on a railways order banning sale of bidis and cigarettes at railway stations and in trains. The order was pased on a petition filed by a hawker.
On an appeal filed by V K Sharma, a vendor of bidis and cigarettes at Bareilly junction railway station, the district judge ordered, "Issue notices to other parties fixing 30.7.99. Meanwhile, the applicant or licencee shall not be interfered by other parties (railways and the government) in his business under contract till the date fixed."
Those made party to the case are the government through the GM of Northern Railways, divisional railway manager, NR, Mora- dabad, senior divivsional commercial manager, NR, Moradabad and station master, Bareilly junction.
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The Indian Railways Caterers' Association too has filed a case in the Mumbai High Court seeking redressal against the government policy banning sale of bidis and cigarettes on railway platforms from June 5. The case is yet to be listed for hearing.
In his petition, Sharma said the order requiring the applicant to stop sale of bidis and cigarettes was "wrong, illegal and unsustainable" on the following grounds:
l The period of vending contract (10.8.1998) is valid up to 31.8.2001, and prior to that, the opposite parties have no right to refrain the him from selling bidis and cigarettes at Bareilly junction railway station.
l The licence fee up to 30.9.1999 has been deposited.
l No prior lawful or contractual notice for termination of the paid contract has been given to the applicant.
The petitoner has said, "The decision to stop bidi and cigarette vending on the railways' premises is arbitrary and unreasonable." The petition states that since the railways' contract with the licencee runs till 2001, the ban has given rise to a dispute under the said contract, which is "liable to be referred for arbitration."
Meanwhile, the association has said that about a fourth of the income from the stalls on railway platforms and trains comes from the sale of cigarettes and bidis. >