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7. On 25.03.2022, the Bihar State Mid-Day Meal Committee held a meeting and took a decision that since the vehicles used by the B.S.F.C. contractors are installed with GPS and their handling charges are relatively less and they have fair price shop instituted in every place, grains to be lifted/distributed Patna High Court CWJC No.8807 of 2022 dt.11-10-2022 under the P.M. Poshan Yojna would be executed through the B.S.F.C. contractors so that consistency may be maintained. The said decision was taken under the signature of the Additional Chief Secretary-cum-Chairman, Bihar State Mid-Day Meal Committee.

15. Learned counsel for the petitioners in other cases have either reiterated or adopted the arguments advanced by Mr. Y.V. Giri, learned senior counsel.

16. Countering the submissions advanced on behalf of the petitioners, Mr. Girijish Kumar, learned counsel for the respondent nos. 3 and 4 submitted that the decision taken in the impugned orders has already been implemented and the transportation of food grains is being carried out by the concerned Door Step Delivery Agents of the B.S.F.C. with effect from 01.06.2022 save and except the contractors working in 25 Blocks of six districts in view of the order of interim status quo dated 17.05.2022 passed by this Court in CWJC No. 6489 of 2022 wherein there are 25 petitioners. He contended that the aforesaid policy decision to entrust the transportation of food grain sunder the P.M. Poshan Yojna to the Door Step Delivery Agent of the B.S.F.C. from the existing contractors appointed by the concerned District Level Selection Committee, Mid-Day Meal Scheme has been taken to safeguard the transportation of food grains, stop the Patna High Court CWJC No.8807 of 2022 dt.11-10-2022 pilferage, use the infrastructure already working in the B.S.F.C. for monitoring the transportation and the amount incurred in transportation being lesser than what was being spent earlier. He submitted that the process of delivering food grains to the respective schools have been periodically reviewed and necessary changes were brought in the interest of the scheme. Despite periodic changes brought in the process of delivery of food grain,s several complaints were being received from different quarter either related with delayed delivery or pilferage of food grain or less quantity of food grains being received, etc. In the process of effective and efficient distribution of food grains, the State Government examined the process of transportation and handling done by the B.S.F.C. from its godown to the different PDS dealers. The State found that the B.S.F.C. has well established infrastructure to deliver food grain from the godown of the B.S.F.C. to the PDS dealers. The B.S.F.C. has up-to-date monitoring system installed at their headquarter, which monitors each vehicle transporting the food grains from the B.S.F.C. Each vehicle used for transporting food grains in the B.S.F.C. is equipped not only with GPS system but load cell also. Hence, the B.S.F.C. not only monitors the movement of the vehicle but also monitors the load it carries, 7which minimizes the pilferage of Patna High Court CWJC No.8807 of 2022 dt.11-10-2022 food grain and ensures the delivery of actual quantity to the destination. In this view of the matter, the proposal for entrusting the delivery of food grain to the store of respective schools by the Door Step Delivery Agent has been initiated and a deliberation was made with the officers of the B.S.F.C. in this regard. He submitted that it was noticed that there was no need to establish a separate monitoring system for the Mid-Day Meal contractors as similar system had already been working in the B.S.F.C. A query was made from the B.S.F.C. in this regard and the B.S.F.C., vide letter dated 07.05.2021 replied positively to the query made and agreed that the Door Step Delivery Agent can be assigned the work of transporting the food grains to the store of different schools and the cost of transportation incurred in the delivery would be same as fixed for delivering food grains to the different PDS dealers, i.e. Rs.38.40 per quintal, which is less than Rs.40/- as fixed for Mid-Day Meal contractors like the petitioners. He submitted that the impugned orders do not suffer from the vice of arbitrariness, irrationality, unreasonableness, bias and malafide. The purpose is to protect public interest. He argued that there is no evidence that the petitioners altered their position pursuant to the agreement. He contended that the agreement would clearly demonstrate that the petitioners do not have any legal right to Patna High Court CWJC No.8807 of 2022 dt.11-10-2022 transport the food grain from one destination to another. The agreement would suggest that they were merely empanelled contractors by the respondents. Mere empanelment does not confer any right to the petitioners to uplift and distribute the food grains under the scheme to the respective schools. He contended that according to the terms of the agreement, the contractors were to transport the food grains between 22nd and 30th day of each month only after getting SIO. Moreover, the agreement also contains a clause that the contractors will have to install GPS system in the vehicles, which would be used for transporting the food grains from the godown to the schools, but the said condition was not followed by the contractors. He submitted that the power of judicial review should not be invoked as the decision taken by the respondents is in public interest. In support of his submissions, he has placed reliance on the decision of the Supreme Court in Jagdish Mandal Vs. State of Orissa & Ors. [(2007) 14 SCC 517].

22. It has been stated in the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the respondent nos. 3 and 4 that each vehicle used for transportation for B.S.F.C. is equipped not only with GPS system but load cell also, which helps B.S.F.C. in monitoring the movement of the vehicle as well as the load it carries and it minimizes the pilferage of the grain and ensure delivery of actual quantity to the destination. On examination of the agreements entered into between the parties, we find that it was specifically stipulated in the agreements that the vehicles used for transportation and distribution of grains by the contractors will have necessarily to be equipped with GPS system. It is true that no show cause was ever asked from the petitioners as to why they were using their vehicles for transportation which were not equipped with GPS system, but when this question was raised by the court in the course of argument, Mr. Giri, learned senior counsel for the petitioners expressed his willingness that if so required the petitioners are also ready to install GPS system in Patna High Court CWJC No.8807 of 2022 dt.11-10-2022 their respective vehicles. This would clearly mean that the petitioners admit that the vehicles being used by them for lifting and transporting the grains under the scheme were not equipped with GPS system. Under such circumstance, we are of the opinion that even if no show cause was asked from the petitioners by the respondents, remanding the matter back to the respondent authorities on the ground of violation of the principles of natural justice would be an empty formality. It is an admitted position that the petitioners themselves have violated the terms of the agreement.

25. In the instant case, it is reiterated that it is an admitted position that the despite there being a provision in the agreement for installing GPS system, the petitioners did not install GPS system in the vehicles being used by them for the transportation work. The procedural irregularities of non-issuance of show cause in this regard would be inconsequential in view of Patna High Court CWJC No.8807 of 2022 dt.11-10-2022 their admission in the course of argument that they are still ready to install GPS system in the vehicles being used by them for transportation and distribution of food grain.