BENGALURU: Right to renewal stands on a higher footing compared to right to consideration for grant of licence of the kind, the high court observed while directing the state government to grant to the petitioner the renewal of the certificate of practice for the Notary Public.
"Grant of licence is one thing and renewal is another. In the former, ordinarily, discretion lies with the statutory authority concerned, although it needs to be exercised in accordance with rules of reason and justice. However, in the latter, the quantum of discretion is comparatively diminished and the authority has to make out a special case for denying renewal. No such case is made out to sustain the impugned order," the court said, while allowing the petition filed by Puttaramaiah. Justice Krishna S Dixit also pointed out that the only unsustainable reason being mentioned is the 'unsatisfactory performance' of the petitioner as a Notary Public.
A resident of Bengaluru, Puttaramaiah had challenged the July 22, 2022 order that denied his request for renewal of the certificate of practice. This was his third petition on the same issue and he contended that except stating that his performance was unsatisfactory, no statistical data or material is shown to deny him renewal.
