UTTAM CHATTERJEE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner, Uttam Chatterjee, has filed this petition to challenge an order dt. 15th Jan. 1985 whereby it has been decided to terminate the licence of the petitioner for the use of land as tourist counter at New Delhi Railway Station and he was requested to vacate the railway premises within one month of the receipt of the letter.

(2.) The case of the petitioner is as follows : In the year 1979, the petitioner applied for opening a tourist booth at the New Delhi Railway Station; the petitioner was allowed a space on the railway land at New Delhi Railway Station temporarily on 9th May, 1979 and after expiry of the term for running the booth, the petitioner was asked to hand over the booth (vide a communication dt. 21st Jan. 1982) and the petitioner handed over possession of the said booth in pursuance thereof to the railway authority. On 8th Mar. 1982, petitioner submitted an application through Minister for Railways for granting space which was lying vacant along the Station building opposite the traffic police post, along with a D.O. letter dt. 8th Mar. 1982 from Sh. Ananda Gopal Mukherjee, Member of Parliament recommending the case of the petitioner. The petitioner, however, received no reply. However, later on Sh. A. B. A. Ghani Khan Chaudhary also recommended his case and again Sh. Pranab Mukherjee, Union Finance Minister also recommended his case to Sh. Jaffar Sharif, Minister of State for Railways and requested them for restoring the tourist booth by granting space of about 5' X 8' to the petitioner. But nothing happened. Ultimately, Sh. A. B. A. Ghani Khan Chaudhary, Minister for Railways intervened and the Divisional Manager (vide letter dt. 30th May, 1983) intimated to the petitioner that it had been decided to allot a booth to the petitioner at New Delhi Railway station for imparting information to tourists and directed the petitioner to give an undertaking that the petitioner would pay cost of the booth, licence fee, security and other charges in advance if put in occupation of the booth and to sign an. agreement. The petitioner complied with the same and filed an undertaking and also deposited Rs. 3810.00 on 7th June, 1983 and also signed an agreement. In the letter dt. 7th June, 1983, it was also directed that the licence fee has been fixed at Rs. 390.00 for one year in advance and had to be increased by 10% every year for a period of 3 years and thereafter the licence fee would be reviewed again. The petitioner got possession on 21st June, 1983 and also signed an agreement The agreement was not signed on behalf of the President or on behalf,of the Railway authority. But in the column relating to the period, the period of licence was blank. The petitioner, however, paid the licence fee for one year for the period 21st June, 1983 to 20th June, 1984. The petitioner again deposited licence fee for the period 21-6-1984 to 20-6-1985. It was during the currency of second year that the impugned order was passed. The case of the petitioner in the writ petition was that he had paid his dues up to 20th June, 1985 for a land measuring 3.25 sq. meter and is running the booth which has been granted to him permanently.

(3.) The aforesaid agreement which was signed by the petitioner, inter alia, contains clauses 2, 6, 8, 9, 15,16 and 17 which provided as under: