Tata Cellular vs Union Of India on 26 July, 1994
21. In support of ECL's argument that a writ court ought not to sit an appeal
over an executive decision, several judgments have been cited. The decision
reported at (1994) 6 SCC 651 (Tata Cellular v. Union of India) has been brought to
bear on the limited scope of judicial review that would apply to the exercise of
contractual powers by government bodies. ECL exhorts that the object of the
exercise is only to prevent arbitrariness or favouritism and even administrative
discretion must be respected unless found to be perverse or patently
unreasonable. A judgment reported at (1993) 1 SCC 445 (Sterling Computers
Limited v. M/s M & N Publications Limited) has next been brought for the
proposition that just as executive action must always be guided by public
interest, once the court finds that the objective standards have been adhered to,
the court would scarcely interfere with the decision-making process.