PADMARAJ R.J. Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By instituting the present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has sought to invoke the extra-ordinary and discretionary jurisdiction of the Court to assail - [i] a Termination Notice dtd. 28/7/2021, issued by the respondent no. 4; [ii] a Notice Inviting Tender [NIT] dtd. 9/8/2021, published by the respondent Northeast Frontier [NF] Railway; and [iii] a Vacation Notice dtd. 2/9/2021. By the Termination Notice dtd. 28/7/2021, the petitioner's services as Commission Vender had been terminated purportedly pursuant to an order of the Chief Commercial Manager, NF Railway, allegedly on the ground of unsatisfactory performance. By the NIT no. C-LMG-00-2021 dtd. 9/8/2021, the respondent NF Railway invited e-Tenders from bidders for provision of Catering Services at General Minor Unit [GMU] no. GHYTS-3 at Platform no. 1 between Pillar no. 24 and 25 of the Guwahati Railway Station, for a period of 5 [five] years. By the Vacation Notice dtd. 2/9/2021, the petitioner had been asked to vacate the stall [South Indian Stall and its extension counter]' located at Platform no. 1 and Platform no. 4/5 of Guwahati Railway Station within a period of 10 [ten] days from the date of receipt of the Vacation Notice.

(2.) The basis of assailment is an Agreement for Commission Vendor executed on 9/3/2020 between the competent authority in the respondent NF Railway on behalf of the President of India on one part, and the petitioner on the other part.

(3.) It is the case of the petitioner that the family of the petitioner was running the business as Commission Vendor from the same stall located at Platform no. 1 of the Guwahati Railway Station since about more than five decades, after entering into arrangement with the respondent NF Railway authorities. After the death of his predecessor and especially after inability on the part of the petitioner's mother to run the business due to old age, the petitioner started running the business of Commission Vendor. It was in that connection, the Agreement for Commission Vendor ['the Agreement', for short] was entered into on 9/3/2020 which had a validity period of 5 [five] years from the date of execution.