UNION OF INDIA Vs. GRAPHIC INDUSTRIES CO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is by Union of India and some officers of the Central Government attached to the Ministry of Railways and they have felt aggrieved at the judgment and order passed by a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court on an appeal preferred by the respondents against the judgment of a learned single Judge which was rendered in a writ petition filed by the respondents under Article 226 of the Constitution.

(2.) The respondents invoked the extraordinary jurisdiction of the High Court on payments not having been made to them of the different items of stores supplied to the Eastern Railways. The respondents had made a grievance about the non-payment even to the Union Minister of Railways and certain correspondence which took place between the local M.P. and the Railway Minister and between the Additional Private Secretary to the Minister of Railways and Controller of Stores were sought to be relied on in seeking a mandamus for payment of a sum of about rupees half a crore.

(3.) The learned single Judge took the view that the correspondence in question could not be treated as decision of the President of India as visualised by Article 377 of the Constitution. Being of this view, the writ petitioners were left with the liberty of moving appropriate forum for redressal of their grievances including going in for arbitration as per the contract, leaving all the questions open to be decided in an appropriate forum.