Akshaya Centre licence holder must be present at facility during operational hours: Kerala HC

Kochi: High court has observed that a licensed Akshaya Centre Entrepreneur (ACE) must be present at the Akshaya Centre during its operational hours, while upholding the decision of the Akshaya Project director to cancel the licence of an Akshaya Centre at Karakonam in Thiruvananthapuram on the ground that the licensee was consistently absent from the centre. A bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas issued the order in a petition filed by the licensee of the Akshaya Centre, challenging the cancellation of his licence and denying the allegation that he was not often present at the centre during its operational hours. Opposing the petition, the Akshaya Project director filed an affidavit stating that the petitioner was found absent during surprise inspections, contrary to the conditions of the licence, and that services relating to Aadhaar cards were being conducted by other staff while the petitioner was working at the mobile phone shop run by him.It was also stated that on an earlier occasion, the district collector had granted the petitioner another opportunity pursuant to a directive of the court, which had directed the authorities to consider his petition challenging the cancellation of the licence. However, the petitioner allegedly repeated the same mistake and, during subsequent surprise inspections, his absence was confirmed. Accordingly, his licence was cancelled. Meanwhile, the petitioner pointed out that his application for the transfer of licence to another person was pending before the authorities.Dismissing the petition, HC observed that an Akshaya Centre serves as a direct interface with customers whose personal data are collected and processed for various purposes. Hence, the confidentiality, integrity and credibility of the Akshaya Centre are essential and must be maintained. The petitioner, having been granted a licence to operate an Akshaya Centre, had accepted the terms and conditions of the agreement. One of the clauses stipulated that he would not engage in other business activities detrimental to the goodwill, brand and future prospects of the Akshaya Project. The clause is significant considering the nature of the work entrusted to the Akshaya Centre, which includes the ACE acting as a verifier of customers whose data are collected.Regarding the petitioner's submission about the application for transfer of the licence, HC observed that such a transfer cannot be claimed as a matter of right. In fact, the transfer request was stated to have been submitted only after the licence was cancelled. It could be viewed as an attempt to wriggle out of the situation.