RDS PROJECTS LTD. Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The challenge in this appeal filed under Sec. 5 of the Kerala High Court Act, 1958 is against the judgment dtd. 23/8/2023 delivered by a learned Single Judge of this Court dismissing W.P.(C) No.17363/2023 filed by the present appellant, by upholding Ext. P49 order dtd. 27/6/2023 passed by the Superintending Engineer, NH (Central) Circle, Vytila, Kochi, 3rd respondent, blacklisting the appellant and barring it from quoting for other works for a period of five years and simultaneously cancelling the appellant's 'A' Class contractor's licence, on account of poor workmanship, and further disqualifying the appellant from participating in any tender in its own name or by using a different name or benami and also withholding the security deposit of Rs.2,00,000.00 until further orders, is purported exercise of the power under clause 2116.2 of PWD Manual.

(2.) The short facts arising from the records are as under: 2.1 The appellant/petitioner is a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956, and has been offering building solutions for a broad range of construction and engineering projects since 1992. It is the case of the petitioner that the company has completed over a hundred projects throughout India, out of which, 45 projects are in Kerala, of which 23 are construction of bridges.

(3.) Learned Senior Counsel Sri. Dushyant Dave, ably assisted by Adv. Sri. Jai Mohan and Adv. Sri. Rajive R. Raj, for the appellant, challenged the authority on the part of the State of Kerala to pass Exhibit P49 order dtd. 27/6/2023, blacklisting the appellant. It was argued that the appellant had entered into an agreement with the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Limited, a company registered under the Companies Act and thus, an independent legal entity. Therefore only the RBDCKL can take action in case of breach of contract entered between the appellant and RBDCKL.