INDRA DHANUSH Vs. STATE ELECTION COMMISSION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for issuing a writ in the nature of certiorari to quash the impugned orders dated 19.10.2002 and 31.3.2003, passed by the opposite party (Annexures-1 and 2 to the writ petition) whereby the job work awarded in favour of the petitioner, had been terminated and a writ in the nature of mandamus commanding the opposite parties to allow the petitioner to continue to work on the job work awarded to him on the same terms and conditions as mentioned in the original agreement dated 12.6.2001, Annexure-3. As alleged in the petition, the petitioner is a small scale unit engaged in Software Development and Computer Data Processing Job Work. The petitioner had been awarded the job work of computerisation of the electoral rolls of panchayat and local bodies for the division of Gorakhpur by the opposite party in pursuance of the aforesaid job work. Parties had entered into an agreement on 12.6.2001 where the terms and conditions of the said job work has been spelt out in detail. Copy of the said agreement is Annexure-3 to the writ petition. It is alleged that in pursuance of the said agreement, the petitioner started working on the same and strictly abided by the guidelines/terms and conditions stipulated in the said agreement. The petitioner was required to complete the said job work within six months from the date of the agreement or from the date of providing the voter list of the said constituency whichever was later. It is further alleged that the petitioner has not been provided the voter list of certain local bodies of the Gorakhpur district and had constantly reminded the opposite party of the same through periodic reports and also made representation to the opposite party to the above effect but to date the petitioner has not been provided with the data/voter list of the said constituency. The opposite party has not released the 60% running amount according to the agreement. On 19.10.2002, the entire job work of the computerisation of the electoral rolls of the panchayat and local bodies which had been allotted to the concerned parties including the petitioner has been terminated by the opposite party and the petitioner received the intimation on 31.3.2003. Thereafter, the petitioner made a representation to the opposite party on 19.4.2003 to the effect that it was illegal on its part to abruptly terminate the said job work without taking the petitioner into confidence without providing the opportunity to the petitioner particularly when the petitioner has already completed 95% of the said job work and the remaining job work was pending on account of the non-providing of voter list to the petitioner by the opposite party. Thereafter, the petitioner sent a reminder to the aforesaid representation on 25.4.2003 but of no avail. It is contended that the petitioner has also spent a considerable money of many in setting up the infrastructure for the completion of the said job work.

(2.) With the aforesaid averments, in the petition, the impugned orders dated 19.10.2002 and 31.3.2003 have been assailed on the grounds that the impugned order dated 19.10.2002 is a non-speaking ; that both the impugned orders are violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India ; that every policy decision of the Government has to pass the test of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India ; that no opportunity of hearing had been given to the petitioner before passing the impugned orders ; that the impugned orders have been passed in patent violation of the principles of natural justice, equity, fair play and reasonableness, that before passing the order, the petitioner should have been taken into confidence ; that it is the fundamental rule that every citizen is protected against exercise of arbitrary authority by the State and the impugned orders are nullity in the eyes of law.

(3.) We have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned standing counsel for the opposite party at the admission stage at length.