VITASTA VISION Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants before us have assailed the judgment dated 17th of May, 2019, passed by the learned Single Judge, rejecting the challenge by way of OWP No.871/2017 to the invitation of the Doordarshan dated 6th of June, 2017, inviting programme proposals for Doordarshan Kashir (DD-Kashir) from producers/ production houses.

(2.) The appellant was aggrieved by the changes in the policy guidelines issued by the Directorate of Doordarshan in so far as the prescription of the eligibility criteria laid down by the respondents for the applicants of Jammu and Kashmir are concerned. Contending that the same was arbitrary and unreasonable, hence violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India and that the same defeated the very purpose of resumption of the DD-Kashir channel of Doordarshan, the petitioner, accordingly, filed OWP No. 871/2017 seeking the following prayer by way of the writ petition:

(3.) This writ petition was rejected by the learned Single Judge by way of the judgment dated 17th of May, 2019, holding that the challenge laid by the writ petitioners to the condition laid down by the respondents in the invitation proposal was way beyond the permissible scope of judicial review. Reliance was placed on the pronouncements of the Supreme Court reported at (1994) 6 SCC 651 : Tata Cellular v. Union of India and (2004) 4 SCC 19 : Directorate of Education and others v. Educomp Datamatics Ltd., and others. The learned Single Judge has held that judicial restraint in challenges to administrative actions was required and that court did not sit as a court of appeal to review the manner in which the decision was made. Emphasizing that public authorities must be left with freedom in administrative functioning while laying down policies and entering into contracts, the learned Single Judge has rejected the challenge laid by the writ petitioners and dismissed the writ petition by the judgment dated 17th of May, 2019.