Jammu & Kashmir High Court
Balbir Singh S/O Dilawar vs Sudhir Gupta on 8 November, 2023
Author: Wasim Sadiq Nargal
Bench: Wasim Sadiq Nargal
S.No. 42
HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH
AT JAMMU
Case No. :- CCP (S) No. 571/2019 c/w
WP (C) No. 2167/2019
CM No. 4465/2019
CCP (S) No. 571/2019
Balbir Singh S/o Dilawar .....Petitioner(s)/Appellant(s)
Singh, Proprietor
M/s Tawi Transformers &
Cables, 85-B SICOP
Industrial Area, Birpur Bari
Brahmana, District Samba
Through: None
Vs
1. Sudhir Gupta, Chief Engineer ..... Respondent(s)
Electrification Maintenance &
Re Wing, Canal Head, Jammu
2. Thakur Dass, Executive
Engineer, Electrification
Maintenance & RE Division
No. 1, Prade Jammu
3. P.D. Singh, Executive
Engineer, Electrification
Maintenance & RE Division
No. 2, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu
4. Sanjay Sharma, Executive
Engineer, Electrification
Maintenance & RE Division
No. 3, Rehari Jammu
5. Narotam Kumar, Executive
Engineer, Electrification
Maintenance & RE Division,
VIjaypur, District Samba
Through: Mr. Amit Gupta, AAG
WP (C) No. 2167/2019
Balbir Singh S/o Dilawar .....Petitioner(s)/Appellant(s)
Singh, Proprietor
M/s Tawi Transformers &
2 CCP (S) No. 571/2019 c/w
WP (C) No. 2167/2019
Cables, 85-B SICOP
Industrial Area, Birpur Bari
Brahmana, District Samba
Through: None
Vs
1. State of J & K, through its ..... Respondent(s)
Principal Secretary, Power
Development Department,
Civil Secretariat,
Srinagar/Jammu
2. Development Commissioner
Power, Power Development
Department, Civil Secretariat,
Srinagar/Jammu
3. Chief Engineer, Elect.
Maintenance & RE Wing,
Jammu
4. Chief Accounts Officer,
Electrification Maintenance &
RE Wing, Canal Road, Jammu
5. Executive Engineer,
Electrification Maintenance &
RE Division No. II, Gandhi
Nagar, Jammu
6. Executive Engineer,
Electrification Maintenance &
RE Division No. I, Parade,
Jammu
7. Executive Engineer,
Electrification Maintenance &
RE Division No. III, Rehari,
Opposite to School Education
Road, Jammu
8. Executive Engineer,
Electrification Maintenance &
RE Division, VIjaypur, District
Samba
Through: Mr. Amit Gupta, AAG
Coram: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE WASIM SADIQ NARGAL, JUDGE
ORDER
08.11.2023 (ORAL) 3 CCP (S) No. 571/2019 c/w WP (C) No. 2167/2019 CCP (S) 571/2019
1. The instant petition has been preferred by the petitioner for initiating the contempt proceedings against the respondents/contemnors for their willful disobedience/non compliance of order dated 04.06.2019 passed by this Court in case bearing WP (C) No. 2167/2019 titled "Balbir Singh vs. State of J & K & Ors." whereby, respondents were directed to consider the release of the admitted unpaid bills of the petitioner, in accordance with law.
2. Mr. Amit Gupta, learned AAG appearing on behalf of the respondents fairly submits that, with regard to the interim order dated 04.06.2019 passed by this Court, Respondent No.1 has passed a detailed consideration order which has been placed on record as "Annexure R-1" with the objections, wherein it is submitted that the demands for liability of all the SSI Units were projected to the Government and consequent upon the release of payment, following details of liability has been cleared, in respect of petitioners' firm, whose breakup is as under:
Name of the Firm Division Total Liability Liability cleared Central Workshop 18.84 Lacs 18.84 Lacs ED-II 8.80 Lacs 5.30 Lacs M/S Tawi Transformers ED-III 16.17 Lacs 11.82 Lacs 4 CCP (S) No. 571/2019 c/w WP (C) No. 2167/2019 ED-Vijaypur 4.39 Lacs 1.81 Lacs ED-I 2.08 Lacs Nil
3. It is further submitted that the claim of the petitioners' firm with regard to admitted liability stands already considered and released up to the maximum amount by the Power Development Department, as per the details supra and part of pending payment/unpaid bills will be cleared as and when the balance amount is received from the Government.
4. In light of the stand taken by Respondent No. 1 in the consideration order dated 21.11.2019, nothing remains to be adjudicated in the contempt petition, as the order dated 04.06.2019 passed by this Court in WP (C) No. 2167/2019 titled "Balbir Singh vs. State of J & K & Ors." stands complied with and accordingly, the proceedings in the instant contempt petition are closed and rule, if any, shall stand discharged.
WP (C) 2167/2019
1) Petitioner through the medium of this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 103 of the Constitution of J & K seeks direction from this Court to command the respondents to release and disburse the outstanding unpaid bills amounting to Rs. 2,74,609/-, Rs. 5 CCP (S) No. 571/2019 c/w WP (C) No. 2167/2019 2,08,030/-, Rs. 3,57,514/- & Rs. 4,36,600/- (Total Rs. 12,76,753/-) in favour of the petitioner along with interest @15% per annum, by way of Writ of Mandamus.
2) The facts discernible from the record would reveal that the petitioner has rendered the services for repairing the transformers and other allied electrical products to the official respondents for the last many years.
3) It is submitted by learned counsel for the petitioner that the respondents have approached the petitioner to do the needful in repairing the transformers as early as possible in order to supply uninterrupted power to the people of Jammu, even during the summer season and the petitioner was assured by the official respondents that the outstanding amount will be released in his favour.
4) It is further submitted by learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner while rendering the services took huge amount of loan from the financial institutions and when the petitioner approached the official respondents to release the amount in his favour, so that he can pay the loan amount as well as the salary of his employees, the respondents on one pretext or the other delayed the payment and gave only hallow assurance to the petitioner, which were extended till date.
6 CCP (S) No. 571/2019 c/wWP (C) No. 2167/2019
5) It is further submitted that the petitioner had even submitted the invoices/bills to the Respondent No. 3 for the release of outstanding unpaid bills in his favour. It is also submitted by the petitioner that the amount is admitted amount and the same is the property of the petitioner which is lying with the respondents and the respondents are under obligation to release the same in favour of the petitioner.
6) The instant petition has been challenged on the following grounds:
a. that the act of the respondents is against the law, facts and all canons of the natural justice; b. that the official respondents are under legal obligation to release the outstanding unpaid bills of the petitioner as the petitioner have taken huge loan from the financial institutions;
c. that it is the hard earned money of the petitioner and this is the only source of the petitioner and number of employees are also dependant on the same and denial of the same amounts to violation of the fundamental right of the petitioner;
d. that the act of the respondents is illegal, arbitrary, unjust & malafide.
7) When the matter was taken up for hearing, neither the petitioner was present in the Court today nor was represented by any counsel.7 CCP (S) No. 571/2019 c/w
WP (C) No. 2167/2019
8) Mr. Amit Gupta, learned AAG submits that the objections in the instant petition has already been filed wherein, it is submitted that in so far as the claim of the petitioner with regard to the release of admitted unpaid bills is concerned, the same has been cleared in favour of the petitioner, details of which are given as under:
Name of the Firm Division Total Liability Liability cleared Central Workshop 18.84 Lacs 18.84 Lacs ED-II 8.80 Lacs 5.30 Lacs M/S Tawi Transformers ED-III 16.17 Lacs 11.82 Lacs ED-Vijaypur 4.39 Lacs 1.81 Lacs ED-I 2.08 Lacs Nil
9) However, the outstanding unpaid bills amounting to Rs.
2,74,609/-, Rs. 2,08,030/-, Rs. 3,57,514/- & Rs. 4,36,600/- (Total Rs. 12,76,753/-) are denied deliberately, as the same are disputed payments and therefore, the jurisdiction of this Court cannot be invoked to bypass the civil and other statutory remedies under law to seek recovery of the payments by virtue of a Decree/Award and prays for the same to be dismissed.
10) In light of the stand taken by respondents in their objections, nothing survives to be adjudicated any further in 8 CCP (S) No. 571/2019 c/w WP (C) No. 2167/2019 the instant petition as the admitted liability of the petitioner has been released in his favour and in so far as the outstanding unpaid bills are concerned, the same cannot be decided while invoking the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, being the disputed claim, as the remedy lies elsewhere.
11) In this view of the matter, the instant petition is dismissed along with connected application(s), if any. However, the petitioner is at liberty to seek appropriate remedy, in accordance with law before the appropriate forum, if so advised.
12) Interim directions, if any, shall stand vacated.
(Wasim Sadiq Nargal) Judge JAMMU 08.11.2023 Manan Whether the order is speaking : Yes/No Whether the order is reportable : Yes/No