SUKHDEV SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has challenged an order dated 20.10.2015 forfeiting his security deposit and blacklisting him for three years.

(2.) It is not necessary to deal with the facts in detail. Suffice it to note that the petitioner was bound under the terms of the notice inviting tenders to produce one hundred trucks on 15.10.2015 for inspection. The petitioner was unable to do so. The petitioner's case is that there were at that time serious disturbances in the State of Punjab and especially in the areas through which the trucks would have to be plied to reach the site for inspection. It is not denied that there were serious disturbances in the State of Punjab.

(3.) The respondents, however, contend that other transporters were able to ply their vehicles. There is a serious dispute in this regard. It is possible that the other transporters' vehicles were within the area where the inspection was to be carried out, whereas the petitioner's trucks had to be brought in from or through the disturbed areas. The respondents also contend that the petitioner had been given sufficient opportunities both by the official respondents and by this Court to produce the one hundred trucks, but the petitioner was unable to do so.