Court stays licence cancellation of Tej Pratap Yadav's petrol pump by BPCL

Interim stay comes after the Minister approached a local court challenging the BPCL's order

Bihar Health Minister Tej Pratap Yadav's petrol pump licence was cancelled by the Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) on Saturday on allegations that he acquired the land for the pump "illegally". However, a local court has stayed the order.

The interim stay comes after the Minister approached a local court challenging the BPCL's cancellation order. Next hearing in the case is on June 23.

Tej Pratap's lawyer S D Yadav said: "The sub-judge 11, Patna, vide an order has been pleased to grant ex-parte temporary injunction restraining the defendant (BPCL) from causing obstruction to the plaintiff till he appears and files his say to [an] application for temporary injunction."

On May 29, BPCL served a show cause notice to Tej Pratap seeking his reply on allegations by senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Kumar Modi that he was not the real owner of the land on Anisabad bypass road here where the pump is situated.

The notice was served by Manish Kumar, BPCL Territory Manager (Retail), Patna. The complaint said that Tej Pratap had acquired the petrol pump by furnishing "wrong" information. He was given 15 days' time to respond to the notice, which has expired.

Tej Pratap had applied for the licence in 2012 and the retail outlet was commissioned to M/S Lara Automobiles, represented by him as its proprietor, on February 27 this year.

According to the complainant, the Minister had falsely declared in his application that the land is in his name. The real owner of the land is M/S A K Infosystems "who had never given the land on lease to you (Tej Pratap)".

Tej Pratap is the elder son of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad.

Commenting on the issue, Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav, the younger brother of Tej Pratap, had called the BPCL's decision a "one-sided action and political vendetta".

"Is mudde par ektarfa karyawahi kyon ho rahi hai, sach jald hi saamne aa jaayega (Why is the proceeding in this case one-sided, the truth will be out soon)," he said.