Allowed

K.Venkat Rao, v. The State of Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh HC21 Jun 2022WP/14238/2022

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Petitioner civil contractor filed writ seeking mandamus for payment of bill amount. Court held non-payment of admitted bills illegal. Directed respondents to clear pending bill within 8 weeks.

What did the court decide?

Directing the respondents to clear the pending bill submitted through CFMS portal vide Token No.2022-112555 for Rs.23,31,820/- within a period of eight (8) weeks.

K.Venkat Rao, Vs The State of Andhra… — Contract and Commercial Disputes | Andhra Pradesh HC (2022)

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THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE M.GANGA RAO

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Writ Petition No. 14238 of 2022

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ORDER:

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This writ petition is filed to issue a Writ of Mandamus declaring the action of the respondents in withholding the payment of Rs.23,31,820/- with CFMS No.2022-112555 even after finalizing the bills payable to the petitioner in relation to the work “Construction of 60000Lts OHSR to APREI Ammanabrolu (V) in N.G. Padu (M) of Prakasam District”, as illegal and arbitrary.

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The grievance of the petitioner is that he is a civil contractor and used to execute the works of R & B Department, Panchayat Raj Department and other Government Departments, more particularly laying of roads, sewage works, etc. He was entrusted with the work “Construction of 60000Lts OHSR to APREI Ammanabrolu (V) in N.G. Padu (M) of Prakasam District” vide Agreement No.79/2017-18 dated 23.03.2018 with an estimated cost of Rs.25.00 lakhs. Accordingly, he completed the said work as per schedule and also as per the terms and conditions of the agreement. The bills were forwarded and the Executive Engineer issued pass orders for an amount of Rs.23,31,820/with CFMS No.2022-112555. But, the amount is not released till date though the respondents are bound to pay the bill amount immediately after its approval. Assailing the

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arbitrary action of not paying the bill amount by the respondents, the present writ petition is filed.

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Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that having admitted the bill under CFMS portal, non-payment of admitted bills is illegal and arbitrary. He further submits that there is a statutory obligation on the part of the respondents to pass the bills and make entire payment immediately after completion of the work. But so far, the petitioner was not paid the bill amount.

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Sri K.Raghuveer, learned Standing Counsel appearing for the respondents 3 to 5 and the learned Assistant Government Pleader for Finance and Planning appearing for the respondents 6 and 7 fairly state that the issue involved in this writ petition with regard to the payment of bills is covered by the orders of this Court and hence they have no objection to dispose of the writ petition.

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Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, submissions of the learned counsel and on perusal of the record, this Court found that non-payment of bill amount even after release of the funds by the Government is illegal and arbitrary. It is settled principle of law that the undisputed bills should be paid without any delay. Therefore, this Court, in the interest of justice, felt it appropriate to dispose of the writ petition directing the respondents to clear the pending bill submitted through CFMS portal vide Token

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No.2022-112555 for Rs.23,31,820/-, within a period of eight (8) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order and communicate the same to the petitioner.

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Accordingly, the Writ Petition is disposed of. No order as to costs.

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Miscellaneous Petitions, if any, pending in this writ petition shall stand closed.

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JUSTICE M.GANGA RAO

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21-06-2022 anr

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THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE M.GANGA RAO

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Writ Petition No. 14238 of 2022

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21-06-2022

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anr

K.Venkat Rao, v. The State of Andhra Pradesh

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

K.Venkat Rao, v. The State of Andhra Pradesh

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

A compact analysis

Issues for consideration

Statutes considered

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