M/S Desein Private Limited Vs Government of NCT of… — Writ and Judicial Review | Delhi HC (2026)

M/S Desein Private Limited Vs Government of NCT of… — Writ and Judicial Review | Delhi HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Impugned order dated 10.06.2022 set aside; matter remanded to the Competent Authority subject to the petitioner depositing the entire award amount with the Registrar General of this Court within four weeks; matter to be listed before the Competent Authority on 16.02.2026 for directions at the first instance; petition disposed of alongwith pending applications. Quantum of the award amount is not stated in the order.

Issue for consideration

Whether the impugned order dated 10.06.2022, passed ex-parte by the Competent Authority under the Delhi Shops & Establishment Act, 1954 without the petitioner's response coming on record, should be set aside and the matter remanded, subject to deposit of the entire award amount.

Court's answer

The impugned order dated 10.06.2022 passed by the Competent Authority under the Delhi Shops & Establishment Act, 1954 is set aside, the Court considering that it was passed ex-parte and looking into the grounds stated in the petition.

Ratio / Principle

The matter is remanded back to the Competent Authority subject to the petitioner depositing the entire award amount with the Registrar General of this Court within four weeks, the deposit being directed with the Registrar General as learned counsels submitted there is no mechanism available for depositing the award amount before the Competent Authority under the Delhi Shops & Establishment Act, 1954.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Delhi High Court (Manoj Kumar Ohri, J.), by order dated 07.01.2026, disposed of W.P.(C) 14434/2022 filed by M/s Desein Private Limited under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India against the Government of NCT of Delhi and another, seeking setting aside of an order dated 10.06.2022 passed by the Competent Authority under the Delhi Shops & Establishment Act, 1954 on a claim petition filed by respondent No.2, which the petitioner contended was adjudicated ex-parte without summons ever being received or its response coming on record. Considering the ex-parte nature of the order and the grounds in the petition, the Court set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter to the Competent Authority, subject to the petitioner depositing the entire award amount with the Registrar General of this Court within four weeks — the deposit being directed with the Registrar General as learned counsels submitted there was no mechanism for deposit before the Competent Authority. The matter was ordered to be listed before the Competent Authority on 16.02.2026 for directions at the first instance. The Court also noted a parallel claim by co-worker Yogesh Sinha, whose ex-parte award, assailed in W.P.(C) 13776/2022, attained finality after the petitioner failed to deposit the award amount within the time fixed by the Co-ordinate Bench's remand-and-deposit direction dated 23.09.2022; the Court went through that order before deciding the present petition. The petition was disposed of alongwith the pending applications. The quantum of the award amount is not stated in the order.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

- W.P.(C) 14434/2022, CM APPL. 44047/2022, CM APPL. 49596/2022, CM APPL. 49663/2022, CM APPL. 71512/2025 and CM APPL. 81154/2025 M/S DESEIN PRIVATE LIMITED .....Petitioner Through: Mr.Prashant Mehta, Mr.Akhil G. and Mr.Raunak Gupta, Advocates versus

GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI & ANR. .....Respondents Through: Ms.Vaishali Gupta and Ms.Ishita Gupta, Advocates for respondent No.1 Mr.Kumar Deepraj, Mr.Vineet Kumar and Mr.Prateek Singh, Advocates for respondent No.2 with respondent No.2 in person

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANOJ KUMAR OHRI

O R D E R

% 07.01.2026

The present petition has been filed under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India seeking setting aside of the impugned order dated 10.06.2022 passed by the Competent Authority under the Delhi Shops & Establishment Act, 1954.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the impugned order has been passed ex-parte. He submits that on a claim Petition filed by the respondent No.2, summons were never received by the present petitioner and that the claim Petition has been adjudicated without the appellant’s response coming on the record.

Learned counsel for respondent No.2 submits that a co-worker, namely Yogesh Sinha, had also preferred a claim Petition against the present

This is a digitally signed order.

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 13/01/2026 at 13:26:43

appellant which too came to be disposed of vide and an ex-parte award. The said ex-parte award was assailed before this Court by way of W.P.(C) 13776/2022. A Co-ordinate Bench on 23.09.2022, while remanding back the matter for fresh consideration also directed the petitioner to deposit the entire award amount. However, as the petitioner had failed to deposit the amount within the stipulated time, the award in the said case attained finality.

I have gone through the facts of the present case as well as the order dated 23.09.2022 passed by the Co-ordinate Bench in the aforesaid writ petition.

Considering that the impugned order was passed ex-parte and looking into the grounds stated in the present petition, the impugned order is hereby set aside. The matter is remanded back to the Competent Authority subject to the petitioner depositing the entire award amount with the Registrar General of this Court within a period of four weeks from today as learned counsels submit that there is no mechanism available for depositing the award amount before the Competent Authority under the Delhi Shops & Establishment Act, 1954.

The matter be listed before the Competent Authority on 16.02.2026 for directions at the first instance.

In view of the above, the present petition is disposed of alongwith the pending applications.

MANOJ KUMAR OHRI, J

JANUARY 7, 2026 na

This is a digitally signed order.

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 13/01/2026 at 13:26:43