Bishwa Raman Kumar Singh v. The Union of India through the General manager, North East Frontier railway, District Kamrup
Case brief
What is this about?
Patna High Court; MJC No.2021 of 2024 in CWJC No.8084 of 2024; order dt. 23-08-2024; Justice A. Abhishek Reddy; petitioner Bishwa Raman Kumar Singh v. Union of India (North East Frontier Railway), Divisional Rail Manager Katihar, Deputy Chief Engineer Gati Shakti; abrupt cancellation of railway works contract (orders dt. 28.03.2024 and 04.06.2024); writ remedy declined in view of arbitration clause - Clause 64 of NIT; referral to arbitrator appointment within four weeks; interim order nullified; disposal of writ petition and miscellaneous case; no adjudication on merits; arbitration to complete preferably within four months; advocates: Prabhat Ranjan (petitioner), Additional Solicitor General and Anshay Bahadur Mathur CGC (Railways/MJC), Alok Kumar CGC (respondents/CWJC).
What did the court decide?
Both the MJC (No.2021 of 2024) and the writ petition (CWJC No.8084 of 2024) stand disposed of; petitioner left free to approach the authorities for appointment of an arbitrator within four weeks, the interim order in the CWJC stands nullified, and the arbitration exercise is to be completed preferably within four months, with the Court expressly not adjudicating the merits.