Sanjay Kr. Halder v. The State of Assam and 4 Ors

ORDER Date : 18.07.2024

Heard Mr. A.Z. Ahmed, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner. Mr. G. Bokalial, the learned Government Advocate, appearing on behalf of the respondent state.

Mr. P. Sharma, the learned Standing Counsel, Fishery Department, Government of Assam, appearing on behalf of the respondents.

¶2The petitioner herein was the third highest tenderer in respect to a tender issued on 27.09.2023. The petitioner has approached this Court on the ground that the first and the second highest bidder having withdrawn the said tender ought to have been awarded to the petitioner but rather the respondent authorities have issued a re-tender notice in respect to the said fishery.

¶3This Court duly takes note of that the re-tender notice was an E-tender issued in the month of February, 2024, and the closing date was on 10.03.2024. However, the petitioner approached this Court on 30.04.2024. There is no explanation in the writ petition as to why the petitioner approached late. In fact a perusal of paragraph No. 8 & 9 of the writ petition which have been sworn as true to the knowledge of the petitioner, it has been mentioned that the petitioner came to learn about the said re-tender notice.

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¶4It is seen that an ex-parte order was passed on 06.05.2024 on the basis of the judgment of the Division Bench of this Court in the case of Deben Das Vs. State of Assam & ors, reported in 2018 (5) GLT 1. However, it is relevant to mention that prior to the interim order being passed on 06.05.2024, the said re-tender notice had already been acted upon and settlement was made in favour of one Shri Bijoy Biswas for a period of 5 (five) years within annual revenue of Rs. 1,52,500/- on 23.04.2024 itself. Under such circumstances, in the opinion of this Court, the instant writ petition suffers from delay and laches and accordingly, the petitioner would not be entitled to the writ as sought for. Accordingly the instant writ petition stands dismissed.

¶5Before parting with the records this Court however observes that the petitioner would be at liberty to challenge the said settlement made in favour of Shri Bijoy Biswas, if so advised.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/3 GAHC010087982024 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/2328/2024o SANJAYoKR.oHALDERo S/OoBARENoCH.oHALDAR,o RESIDENToOFoDARCHAWKA,oPSoGAURIPUR,oDISToDHUBRI,oASSAMo783331 VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDo4oORSo REPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM,oFISHERYo DEPARTMENT,oDISPURoGUWAHATIo06 2:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONERoDHUBRIoCUMoDISTRICToCOMMISSIONERo DHUBRI o(REVENUEoFISHERYoSECTION)oPO oPSoANDoDISToDHUBRI oASSAMo783301 3:THEoCHIEFoEXECUTIVEoOFFICER oZILAoPARISHADoDHUBRI oPO oPSoANDoDISToDHUBRI oASSAMo783301 4:THEoEXECUTIVEoOFFICER oDHUBRIoMUNICIPALoBOARD oDHUBRI oPO oPSoANDoDISToDHUBRI oASSAMo783301 5:SUBoDIVISIONALoOFFICERo(C) Page No.# 2/3 BILASIPARA PO AND PS BILASIPARA DIST DHUBRI ASSAM 78330 Advocate for the petitioner(s) : Mr. A.Z. Ahmed (Advocate) Advocate for the respondent(s): Ms. N. Borah, (SC, P &RD R3) Mr. P. Sharma, (SC, Fishery Department) Mr. G. Bokalial (Govt. Advocate) BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVASHIS BARUAH