Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
India Power Corporation Ltd. (Ipcl) vs The State Of West Bengal And Ors on 26 September, 2023
Author: Hiranmay Bhattacharyya
Bench: Hiranmay Bhattacharyya
26.09.2023
Item No.5
Ct. No.1
PG/KS
M.A.T. 1620 of 2023
With
IA No.CAN 1 of 2023
India Power Corporation Ltd. (IPCL)
-Versus
The State of West Bengal and Ors.
Mr. Lakshmi Kumar Gupta, Sr. Adv.,
Mr. Sukanta Chakraborty,
Mr. Nigam Ashish Chakraborty,
Mr. Chayan Gupta,
Mr. Anindya Halder,
Mr. Agniva Banerjee,
Mr. A. Mookherji,
Mr. Shoham Sanyal.......................For the appellant.
Ms. Usha Doshi .....For the respondent nos.2 to 4
Mr. Somnath Ganguli Ms. Priyamvada Singh .....For the State
1. We have heard Mr. Lakshmi Kumar Gupta, learned senior advocate appearing for the appellant and Ms. Usha Doshi, learned advocate appearing for the respondent nos.2 to 4 and Mr. Somnath Ganguli, learned Government counsel appearing for the State.
2. This intra-Court appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 11th August, 2023 in W.P.A. 17132 of 2023. By the said writ petition, the appellant had challenged the cancellation of Letter of Award and debarment of the appellant company for a period of three years from 2 participating in any tender. The writ petition was dismissed. Aggrieved by the same, the present appeal has been preferred.
3. In this appeal, an interim order was passed on 15th September, 2023 to the limited extent that till 25th September, 2023 or until further order, whichever is earlier, the appellant shall be allowed to participate in bids of the respondent no.3 on the condition that if the appellant is unable to obtain stay of the impugned judgment and order or the decision of the respondent no.3 to blacklist them by 25th September, 2023, the bid of the appellant shall not be further proceeded with by the respondent no.3.
4. The matter was mentioned before this bench on the ground that the interim order has to be extended and accordingly, the matter has been listed today.
5. After we have heard the learned advocates for the parties for a considerable length of time, we are of the view that if an interim order of stay has to be granted, it would tantamount to not only staying the cancellation of the Letter of Award but also staying the order of debarment of the appellant company from participating in the tender. This would have an effect of a final order at the interim stage, which cannot be granted. 3
6. Therefore, all that can be done in the present matter, is to fix an early date for the appeal to be heard.
7. Accordingly, the appeal shall be listed for hearing on 11th October, 2023.
8. The respondent no.3 is granted liberty to file its affidavit in opposition not later than 5 th October, 2023; reply, if any, may be filed by 10 th October, 2023.
9. Accordingly, IA No.CAN 1 of 2023 is dismissed.
(T. S. SIVAGNANAM) CHIEF JUSTICE (HIRANMAY BHATTACHARYYA, J.)