Government offices cannot delay business nods indefinitely: Allahabad High Court

“An arbitrary infringement of the right of occupation, trade or business in its natural course erodes and subverts the basic facet of Article 21 of the Constitution of India which guarantees the right to live with dignity. Thus, an unjustified and arbitrary denial or delay in permitting a citizen to carry on a lawful trade or business must withstand the combined constitutional scrutiny of Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of Constitution of India…The delay in decision-making, without any plausible cause, itself is an indication of malice in law, also exhibiting arbitrariness writ large,” the court said on July 30.

The case arose after Gupta secured every statutory clearance for the proposed petrol pump except the district magistrate’s NOC. Despite repeated requests and a revised government policy simplifying the approval process, the application remained pending for over two years. The NOC was issued only after the high court repeatedly questioned the administration and summoned the district magistrate to personally explain the delay.

Justices J J Munir and Indrajeet Shukla held that a two-year delay in granting a petrol pump NOC amounted to malice in law and violated a citizen’s constitutional right to carry on business. (Image enhanced using AI)

Pending NOC

According to the judgment, Gupta received a Letter of Intent from Reliance BP Mobility Limited on March 29, 2024, to set up a petrol pump in Fatehpur district. He secured all statutory clearances except the district magistrate’s NOC.

The oil company sought the mandatory NOC on July 1, 2024, but no decision was taken for over two years, forcing Gupta to approach the high court. Even after the state simplified the approval process through a revised government order dated December 18, 2025, the application remained pending.

On June 22, 2026, the high court sought an explanation for the delay. Unsatisfied with the response, it directed the district magistrate to appear personally on June 24. The NOC was finally issued through a personal affidavit filed on June 25, after which the bench directed the authorities and the oil company to proceed with the project.

Delay amounted to ‘malice in law’

The state argued that the delay occurred because the police report required for processing the application had been submitted late. It also informed the court that a clerk had been awarded a censure entry. The bench rejected the explanation, observing that neither the district magistrate‘s personal affidavit nor the record disclosed any reasonable or plausible justification for the delay of more than two years.

It held that the unexplained inaction attracted the doctrine of “malice in law”, clarifying that legal malice does not require proof of personal ill will but arises when a public authority acts without lawful justification or disregards its statutory obligations.

“The Supreme Court has read Articles 14, 19 and 21 together as an inseparable constitutional framework, popularly known as the doctrine of golden triangle. Since infringement of right to practice any profession or to carry any occupation, trade or business is guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India, its infringement automatically attracts the tenets of Article 14 of the Constitution of India, since arbitrariness is antithetical to Article 14,” the court said.

Court criticises bureaucratic red tape

• Coming down heavily on the district magistrate‘s office, the bench observed that while a clerk had been punished, the senior officers responsible for the prolonged delay had escaped accountability.
• Holding that such unexplained delay was itself an indication of malice in law and arbitrariness, the court said citizens cannot be made to suffer because of bureaucratic red tape.
• “The right to equality is antithetical to arbitrariness… the arbitrary action in not taking a prompt decision… are clearly indicative of the fact that the petitioner is a victim of red tapism in the bureaucratic set up in democracy,” it said.
• It remarked that the NOC issued in haste after the court’s intervention could easily have been granted long ago.
• The judges further observed that successive incumbents in the district magistrate‘s office remained “sitting tight” over the matter for more than two years despite the Government Orders of January 30, 2023 and December 18, 2025.
• “Thus, an unjustified and arbitrary denial or delay in permitting a citizen to carry on a lawful trade or business must withstand the combined constitutional scrutiny of Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of Constitution of India,” it said.

Since the NOC was issued during the proceedings, the bench held that nothing survived for adjudication. It directed Reliance BP Mobility Limited to proceed expeditiously on the basis of the letter of intent dated March 29, 2024, expressed hope that the District Magistrate, Fatehpur, would act promptly in future cases involving citizens’ rights, and disposed of the petition without costs.