Biraj Boruah v. The State of Assam and 5 Ors

ORDER Date : 23.08.2023

¶1The case of the Petitioner herein is that the Petitioner is aggrieved by the inaction on the part of the Respondent Authorities in making payment of the bills of the Petitioner.

¶2The case of the Petitioner herein is that the Petitioner has participated in the tender process for Special Repair (S/R) to Hatkhola Road in Tenakhat Rural Road Sub-Division under Dibrugarh Rural Road Division for 2007-08 providing earth work and gravelling from 1st to 3rd KM. Being the successful bidder, the Petitioner was issued a formal work order bearing No.CE/DEV/TB/297/07-08/8 dated 12.11.2008 by the Chief Engineer, PWD (Roads). In the said formal work order, the tender value was quoted as Rs.25,00,000/-. It was further mentioned in the formal work order that the work be completed within a period of 3 (three) months from the date of issue of formal work order.

¶3It is the case of the Petitioner that the Petitioner successfully executed the Page No.# 3/4 works and accordingly after completion of the work necessary measurement was taken by the concerned Respondent authorities also and the bill was prepared by the Assistant Executive Engineer, Tengakhat Rural Road Sub-Division vide SD bill No.TK.FF.297 dated 12.12.2008 for an amount of Rs.24,99,732/-. It is the further case of the Petitioner that the Petitioner had submitted various representations to the Respondent Authorities for release of the amount however the said amount of Rs.24,99,732/-is still pending, for which the Petitioner has approached this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.

¶4Mr. B. Choudhury, the learned Standing counsel appearing on behalf of the PWD submits that as to whether the Petitioner has completed the work in terms with the work order in question is a subject matter of verification which needs to be carried out by the Respondent Authorities and it is only on the basis of such verification, the actual entitlement of the Petitioner could be ascertained.

¶5Upon hearing the learned counsels for the parties, this Court is of the opinion that the interest of justice would be met if a direction is given to the Respondent Authorities to verify as to whether the Petitioner has completed the work in accordance with the formal work order mentioned hereinabove and thereupon to ascertain the exact amount to which the Petitioner is entitled to, if any.

¶6It is under such circumstances, this Court therefore disposes of the instant writ petition thereby directing the Respondent Authorities more particularly the Respondent Nos. 2, 3 and 5 to verify the entitlement of the Petitioner on the basis of the tender conditions as well as the formal work order which was issued in favour of the Petitioner and as to whether the Petitioner has completed the work in question. Upon verification, if it is found that the Petitioner is entitled to any amount, the same should be paid to the Petitioner in terms with the Page No.# 4/4 judgment of the Full Bench of this Court in the case of Tamsher Ali and Others Vs. State of Assam and others reported in 2008 (4) GLT 1. The said verification be completed within a period of 1 (one) month from the date a certified copy of the instant order is served upon the Respondent No.1.

¶7With above observations and directions, the instant writ petition stands disposed of.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010122842021 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/4075/2021o BIRAJoBORUAHo S/OoLATEoMOHIoBORUAHo RESIDENToOFoMORAN,oPOoMORAN,oDISToDIBRUGARH,oASSAM VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDo5oORSo REPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.o OFoASSAM,oPUBLICoWORKSoDEPARTMENT,oDISPUR,oGUWAHATIo06 2:THEoPRINCIPALoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oFINANCEoDEPARTMENT oDISPURoGUWAHATIo06 3:THEoCHIEFoENGINEER oPUBLICoWORKSoDEPARTMENTo(ROAD)oASSAM oCHANDMARI oGUWAHATIo03 4:THEoSUPERINTENDENToENGINEER oPUBLICoWORKSoDEPARTMENT(R)oDIBRUGARHoROADoCIRCLE oDIBRUGARH oASSAMo786001 5:THEoEXECUTIVEoENGINEER oPUBLICoWORKSoDEPARTMENT oDIBRUGARHoRURALoROADoDIVISION oDIBRUGARH o786001 Page No.# 2/4 6:THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER PWDR DIBRUGARH LAHOWAL MORAN AND TINGKHONG TERRITORIAL ROAD DIVISION DIBRUGARH 78600 For the Petitioner(s) : Mr. H. K. Nath, Advocate For the Respondent(s) : Mr. B. Choudhury, Advocate BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVASHIS BARUAH