DARSHAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF H. P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) It was more than four decades back that the Hon'ble Supreme Court had observed that "it must, therefore, be taken to be the law that where the Government is dealing with the public, whether by way of giving jobs or entering into contracts or issuing quotas or licences or granting other forms of largesses, the Government cannot act arbitrarily at its sweet will and, like a private individual, deal with any person it pleases, but its action must be in conformity with standard or norm which is not arbitrary, irrational or irrelevant. The power or discretion of the Government in the matter of grant of largesses including award of jobs, contracts quotas, licences etc., must be confined and structured by rational, relevant and non-discriminatory standard or norm and if the government departs from such standard or norm in any particular case or cases, the action of the Government would be liable to be struck down, unless it can be shown by the Government that the departure was not arbitrary, but was based on some valid principle which in itself was not irrational, unreasonable or discriminatory (Refer: Erusian Equipment and Chemicals Ltd. vs. State of West Bengal,1975 AIR(SC) 26).

(2.) The instant case depicts sordid, despotic and nepotic functioning of respondent No.1. Despite there being no advertisement or wide publicity for allotment of distribution work of cooking gas cylinders, the same was granted to respondents No. 4 and 5, after withdrawal from the petitioners, only because they were ready to do the same work at a lesser rate.

(3.) It is not to say that the petitioners are hollier than cow because even they too were allotted this work in a same and similar fashion.