M J PUROHIT Vs. EXECUTIVE ENGINEER GONDAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent has been filed against the judgment and order of our learned Brother S. H. Sheth J. in Special Civil Application No. 1181 of 1973. Our learned Brother dismissed the special civil application and discharged the Rule and the original Petitioner has filed this Letters Patent Appeal against the judgment and order of our learned Brother.

(2.) The facts leading to this litigation are that petitioner No. 1 has been working as an electrical contractor. He is the holder of a license in that behalf under the provisions of the Indian Electricity Rules 1956 and is duly qualified for carrying out electric installation work in Junagadh and surrounding areas. The second petitioner is the Secretary of Gujarat Vijali Contractors Mandal and he thus comes in on behalf of the association of electrical contractors working throughout the State of Gujarat. The Gujarat Electricity Board wanted to carry out electrification work of the staff quarters of the Board at Sardhar Virpur and Talaja. Tenders were invited and petitioner No. 1 submitted his tender. Respondent No. 2 also an electrical contractor though not qualified and licensed to carry on that work and three other persons also submitted their tenders. The tender of respondent No. 2 was accepted though he did not held a license to carry out the work of electrical contractor for installation work and the tender of petitioner No. 1 was rejected. The association of licensed electrical contractors has entered in the present dispute between the first petitioner and the Executive Engineer of the Gujarat Electricity Board who is the first respondent herein. The petition has been filed by the two petitioners against rejection of the tender of petitioner No. 1 and acceptance of the tender of respondent No. 2. The main question which is required to be considered is under rule 45 of the Indian Electricity Rules 1956 That rule provides as follows:

(3.) In the instant case we find from the affidavit-in-reply that the quarters in question which were constructed at Talaja Sardhar Virpur were integral parts of the sub-stations which were being put up by the Gujarat Electricity Board at these three different centres. They were being put up in the capacity as suppliers and not in any other capacity and therefore looking to the wording of rule 45 sub-rule (1) the provisions of sub-rule (1) will not apply since the Board in that capacity is neither an owner nor a consumer.