KULDIP SINGH PARDESI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners have approached this Court by way of filing various writ petitions having grievance more or less the same. Some of the petitioners have been allotted chemist shops in Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh (hereinafter called as 'PGIMER) and some have been allotted in GMCH, Sector-32 Chandigarh. The said shops were leased out with certain terms and conditions. As per averments made in those writ petitions, the petitioners had been paying monthly installments within the prescribed period but subsequently due to Pandemic COVID-19, they were not in a position to open their shops either due to complete lockdown or partial lockdown. It is also their grievance that due to fall in number of patients/attendants, there was either no sale or the sale was on the lowest level. The petitioners were not getting any return but had to pay installments of huge amount due to which, the delay in making payment of installments has occurred. It is also their grievance that the petitioners were asked by the concerned authority to pay monthly licence fee for the period during which, the lockdown remained in force even when OPD blocks of the hospitals/institutes remained closed. The grievance of some of the petitioners is that they were debarred from participating in the tender process for all the commercial sites for a period of two years. In some of the cases, the site had already been vacated but still penal consequences are there due to which, the petitioners have to face not only the financial constraints but they have to pay huge amount in view of terms and conditions of the licence even after closure of shops.

(2.) The common grievances of all the petitioners are that due to Pandemic COVID-19, not only a substantial loss has been caused to them but it has become impossible and impracticable to fulfill the obligations under the licence deeds. Some of the petitioners have been served vacation notice by informing the respondents that due to fundamental change in the economic condition occurred due to Pandemic COVID-19, the licence deed between the parties has been frustrated and they are not interested in continuing with the said activity. Majority of the petitioners have approached the concerned authority for waiving off the licence fee or to divide proportionately so that they are in a position to pay the same and to go with the activity. The petitioners are feeling helpless in making monthly installments as they are not hopeful that in near future also, the situation is likely to improve.

(3.) In view of the facts as mentioned above, all the cases can be divided category wise mainly in three categories with regard to PGIMER.