The High Court dismissed the appellant's appeal challenging an order directing removal of the respondent from its blacklisted/holiday list. The court held that continuing to display the name despite a stay on the debarment order violated the stay and was arbitrary. The appeal was dismissed on merits and for delay.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
$~44
NBCC INDIA LIMITED ..... Appellant
Through: Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, ASG with Mr. Shreeyash U. Lalit, Mr. Himanshu Vats, Mr. Abhinav Aggarwal, Mr. Krishnagpal Abhay and Ms. Runjhun Garg, Advocates.
versus
RAMACIVIL INDIA CONSTRUCTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED
..... Respondent Through: Mr. Jayant K. Mehta, Senior Advocate with Mr. Avinash Trivedi, Mr. Anurag Kaushik, Ms. Ritika Trivedi, Mr. Ritika Trivedi and Mr. Rhythm Nagpal, Advocates.
HON'BLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA
JUDGMENT
MANMOHAN, ACJ: (ORAL)
CM APPL. 6811/2024 (for exemption)
LPA 97/2024 Page 1 of 6
Signature Not Verified
Signed By:MAHIMA SHARMA Signing Da te:1 3.02.2024 11:41:58
LPA 97/2024 and CM APPL. 6810/2024, CM APPL. 6812/2024 & CM APPL. 7759/2024
3.1. The writ petition was filed by the Respondent herein challenging the banning order dated 17th February, 2021 (‘first debarment order’), passed by the Appellant herein, blacklisting the Respondent for a period of two (2) years from the date of issuance said order. The Court did not grant any stay on the operation of the said debarment order. Accordingly, the said debarment order operated for the entire period of two (2) years and lapsed on 16th February, 2023, due to efflux of time. This fact was duly recorded by the Court in its order dated 21st March, 2023. However, the Respondent’s name continued to be shown in the Holiday List published on Appellant’s website. In these circumstances, the Respondent herein filed the CM APPL. 54158/2023 in the writ proceedings, seeking direction to the Appellant herein to remove the Respondent’s name from the Holiday List being displayed on its website. The impugned direction has been passed against the Appellant in the aforesaid application.
LPA 97/2024 Page 2 of 6
Signature Not Verified
Signed By:MAHIMA SHARMA Signing Da te:1 3.02.2024 11:41:58
Housing and Urban Affairs (‘MoHUA’) vide its separate order has debarred the Respondent for a period of two (2) years with effect from 29th March, 2023 (‘second debarment order’). She states that the Respondent’s name continues to be reflected in the Holiday List of the Appellant in pursuance to the second debarment order.
4.1. She states that though the operation of the second debarment order dated 29th March, 2023, has been stayed by the Court vide order dated 28th April, 2023, in a separate writ petition i.e., W.P.(C) No. 5467/2023, however, since the said second debarment order has not been set aside by the Court, the Appellant is bound to continue reflecting the Respondent’s name in the Holiday List available on the Appellant’s website. She states that the Appellant cannot remove the name of the Respondent from the Holiday List without specific written instructions from the concerned Ministry i.e., MoHUA.
5.1. He states that the operation of the second debarment order has been admittedly stayed by the Court vide order dated 28th April, 2023, in W.P.(C) No. 5467/2023, and therefore, the Appellant has no cause for continuing to include the Respondent’s name in the Holiday List. He states that the
LPA 97/2024 Page 3 of 6
Signature Not Verified
Signed By:MAHIMA SHARMA Signing Da te:1 3.02.2024 11:41:58
Respondent has been unable to participate in new tenders with government entities and this act of the Appellant is in teeth of the stay granted by the Court.
5.2. He states that the impugned order was passed on 17th October, 2023 and subsequently, the Appellant herein represented before the learned Single Judge on 29th November, 2023, that the said order dated 17th October, 2023 will be complied with expeditiously. He states that therefore, the filing of the present appeal belatedly is contrary to the representations made before the learned Single Judge.
Signature Not Verified
LPA 97/2024 Page 4 of 6
Signed By:MAHIMA SHARMA Signing Da te:1 3.02.2024 11:41:58
and display the Respondent’s name in the Holiday List effaces the effect of the stay order granted by this Court in W.P.(C) No. 5467/2023, as is evident from the letters of rejection and queries received by Respondent from tendering authorities. The Appellant by continuing to include the name of the Respondent in the Holiday List is acting in contravention of the stay order dated 28th April, 2023.
LPA 97/2024 Page 5 of 6
Signature Not Verified
Signed By:MAHIMA SHARMA Signing Da te:1 3.02.2024 11:41:58
November, 2023, that the directions for removing the Respondent from the Holiday List shall be duly implemented. Instead of complying with the statement made on 29th November 2023, the present appeal has been filed as afterthought. In these facts, we are of the considered opinion that no sufficient cause has been shown for seeking condonation of delay in CM APPL. 6810/2024.
ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE
MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA, J
FEBRUARY 9, 2024/ msh/aa
Click here to check corrigendum, if any
LPA 97/2024 Page 6 of 6
Signature Not Verified
Signed By:MAHIMA SHARMA Signing Da te:1 3.02.2024 11:41:58
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the appellant's refusal to remove the respondent's name from the holiday list, despite a stay on the debarment order, set at naught the effect of the stay?
Whether the delay in filing the appeal was justified?
NBCC India Limited
Ramacivil India Constructions Private Limited
Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
