Pulling up Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC), retailer of Indian Made Foreign Liquor, the Madras High Court today directed it to frame necessary guidelines for placing orders and indents to maintain equality in the interest of manufacturers.
Justice V Dhanapalan, who allowed a petition by Golden Vats Private Limited of Karnavur village in Thiruvarur District which alleged discrimination in placement of orders, said the TASMAC being a state-run firm has to be fair and transparent in its approach.
"This court is of the considered opinion that the action of the authorities in not placing the supply orders and indents to the petitioner on par with others is arbitrary, unreasonable and against the constitutional provisions," the judge said.
Particularly, it should have a scientific and commercial data on the basis of consumer choice and liking for placing the orders with various IMFL manufacturers and cannot act in an arbitrary and discriminatory manner, it said.
Hence, the judge, said that proper guidelines on the basis of commercial and scientific data and on the basis of consumer choice in a most transparent manner have to be framed and implemented by it in the matter of placing supply orders and indent for purchasing the premium brands.
The petitioner said during July-December 2013, it was able to get orders only to the tune of 28,300 cases of premium brands whereas others were able to receive orders to the tune of 10,00,000 cases in the six months.
In the petition the company alleged that it has been discriminated by issuing orders only for small and medium brands manufactured by it leaving the premium brands in which only it will get profit.
The Judge said, "Where a corporation is an instrumentality or agency of the government, it would, in exercise of its power or discretion, be subject to the Constitutional or public law limitations as government. An ordinary individual can choose not to deal with any person, but the government cannot choose to exclude persons by discrimination.
The Judge then directed the TASMAC to take average monthly retail sale of each of the above companies premium brands right from the date of launching till October 2013, and to place the difference of backlog of supply and indent orders from July 2013 onwards and continue to place supply and indent orders on the average monthly sale basis and directed the TASMAC to frame guidelines for issuance of orders.
