GULABSINGH GOPINATH CHAVAN vs THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA THROUGH ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY AND OTHERS — WP/1358/2024

Summary The High Court of Bombay at Aurangabad dismissed the Writ Petition filed by Gulabsingh Chavan challenging the Minister's order that restored a Fair Price Shop (FPS) License No. 74 to Indubai (Respondent No. 5). The court held that a FPS License cannot be transferred based on a Will Deed (which only becomes effective after death) or a Partnership Deed, as government policy permits transfer only in specific circumstances like succession upon death. The earlier ministerial order transferring the license to the petitioner via a partnership arrangement was found to violate the legal principle "what cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly," and therefore could not be sustained. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.