Delhi High Court: In a writ petition filed to challenge an undated communication by the Food Corporation of India (‘FCI’) to the extent that it debarred the petitioner from participating in any future tenders of FCI for 5 years, a Single Judge Bench of Sanjeev Narula, J. held that the impugned communication, to the extent mentioned, was in violation of the principles of natural justice, and thus, stayed the same till the next date of hearing.
Background
The dispute in the present matter resulted from the Agreement dated 25-07-2018 for the work of ‘Demolition and Reconstruction of 20 Residential flats in Sector 27, Noida’.
After disputes arose between the parties under the said Agreement, the FCI, issued an undated communication in which it noted that after the work was completed by the petitioner, various defects were noticed in the maintenance period for which various notices were issued to the petitioner.
The communication by FCI mentioned that the testing report of the flats indicated that the work was not executed as per the requirement and the FCI had to face various losses.
After noting certain other discrepancies on behalf of the petitioner, through the communication, the Assistant General Manager (Civil), FCI, forfeited the security deposit and withheld the amount that was lying with FCI for the work as per the said Agreement and for non-submission of the GRIHA certificate.
The petitioner’s firm was debarred from participating in any future tenders of FCI for 5 years from the date of issue of the communication and was disallowed to participate in the tendering process for the work related to the repairs/strengthening/renovation of the said flats at Sector 27, Noida.
The petitioner assailed the undated communication to the extent that it directed the debarment of the petitioner from participating in any future tenders of the FCI for 5 years from the issuance of the letter.
It was pointed out that no show cause notice was issued to the petitioner before the decision was passed and that the decision was not even dated. The petitioner contended that he was not afforded any opportunity to put forth his stand or to respond to the allegations on which the impugned action was premised.
Analysis and Decision
On a prima facie consideration of the matter, the Court observed that the impugned communication issued by FCI, to the extent of debarring the petitioner for 5 years, was issued without a show cause notice or allowing the petitioner to put forth his stand and was thus, in violation of the principles of natural justice.
The Court stayed the directions of the FCI to debar the petitioner from participating in any future tenders, as directed in the impugned communication, till the next date of hearing.
The matter is to be re-notified on 23-10-2024.
[Vijay Sharma v. Food Corporation of India, 2024 SCC OnLine Del 4911, Decided on 18-07-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For Petitioner — Advocate Ankur Mahindro, Advocate Aditya Kapur, Advocate Rohan Taneja, Advocate Shubhangi Jain
For Respondent — SC Manoj