The appellate bench dismissed special appeals challenging the High Court's refusal to interfere with an Ombudsman's blacklisting of a company. The Court held the company received a hearing and factual findings were not for judicial interference.
None; Special Appeals dismissed.
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.
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR
D.B. Spl. Appl. Writ No. 75/2020
M/s. Pooja Constrction Company, Through Prop. Surendra Kumar S/o Shri Hetram Aged 34 Years, B/c Kumhar, R/o Sonari, TehsilNohar, District- Hanumangarh.
----Appellant
Versus
----Respondents
Connected With
D.B. Spl. Appl. Writ No. 738/2019
M/s. Pooja Constrction Company, Through Prop. Surendra Kumar S/o Shri Hetram Aged 34 Years, B/c Kumhar, R/o Sonari, TehsilNohar, District- Hanumangarh.
----Appellant
Versus
(2 of 6)
[SAW-75/2020]
----Respondents
D.B. Spl. Appl. Writ No. 875/2019
M/s. Pooja Constrction Company, Through Prop. Surendra Kumar S/o Shri Hetram, B/c R/o Sonari, Tehsil Nohar, District Hanumangarh.
----Appellant
Versus
----Respondents
For Appellant(s) : Mr. G.R. Punia, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Mahaveer Bhanwaria For Respondent(s) : Mr. Sunil Beniwal, AAG
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[SAW-75/2020]
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIJAY BISHNOI HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUDESH BANSAL
Judgment / Order
26/10/2021
These Special Appeals have been preferred by the appellant-firm being aggrieved with the order dated 4.7.2018 passed by the learned Single in SBCWP No.4635/2015, 5434/2015 and 5337/2015 whereby, the learned Single Judge has dismissed the said writ petitions treating them as being devoid of merits.
By way of above writ petitions, the petitioner-firm has challenged the award dated 22.12.2014 and modified award dated 20.3.2015 passed by the Ombudsman whereby, a direction was issued to blacklist the appellantfirm.
The allegation against the appellant-firm was that without supplying the construction material at the construction site it has raised fictitious bills in connivance with the Sarpanch, Gram-sewak and Junior Technical Assistant and on the basis of the same, has received payment from the Government.
The principal argument raised by the learned counsel for the appellant-firm is that the Ombudsman before issuing the awards dated 22.4.2014 and 20.3.2015 has
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[SAW-75/2020]
not provided any opportunity of hearing to the appellantfirm. It is argued that the impugned awards were passed in violation of principles of natural justice, however, the learned Single Judge has erred in rejecting the writ petitions without appreciating the said contention in right perspective.
Per contra, Mr. Sunil Beniwal, learned AAG has argued that despite service of notice upon the appellantfirm, it has not filed any reply before the Ombudsman and in such circumstances, it cannot be said that the appellant-firm was not provided opportunity of hearing before passing of the impugned awards. It is further argued that after passing initial award dated 22.4.2014, the appellant-firm has preferred review petitions before the Ombudsman and in those writ petitions no such ground of non service of notice has been taken, but the Ombudsman after taking into consideration all the arguments advanced by the appellant-firm has passed the modified award dated 20.3.2015 and in such circumstances, it cannot be said that no opportunity of hearing was granted to the appellant-firm before passing of the impugned awards.
Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record.
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The learned Single Judge while dismissing the writ
petitions has observed as under :-
“The thrust of contentions advanced by Shri Prajapat, learned counsel representing the petitioners for assailing the impugned awards was that the petitioners were not provided appropriate opportunity of hearing and of defending themselves by the Ombudsman in the first round of proceedings. Suffice it to say that the said aspersion is totally fictional and has no foundation whatsoever. The Ombudsman, issued the notices on 05.12.2014 and intimated each of the petitioners to file their reply/explanation by 12.12.2014. Though the petitioners have claimed that they did not receive these notices but ex-facie, the said assertion is manifestly unfounded for the simple reason that nowhere in the pleadings of the review applications, did the petitioners mention that they did not receive the notices issued to them by the Ombudsman. Inspite thereof, the Ombudsman while hearing there view applications considered in detail, the defences raised by the petitioners and passed a fresh final award and reaffirming the earlier decision of blacklisting the petitioners and to effect recovery of the defalcated moneys from the Sarpanch, Jr. Technical Assistant and the Gram Sevak. It may be stated here that even in the review applications, the explanation offered by each of the petitioners regarding them not being responsible for the alleged delinquency/ misappropriation is flimsy and hypothetical. No concrete proof was provided by the petitioners to establish
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that they actually supplied the material/ goods in question on being ordered by the Panchayat at the construction sites. Thus, the finding arrived by the Ombudsman in the impugned awards that the petitioners in conspiracy with the Sarpanch, etc., generated and encashed fictitious bills without supplying the material in question is based on a just and proper appreciation of facts. This Court, while exercising its extraordinary writ jurisdiction, would be loath to enter into such disputed questions of facts so as to interfere in the well reasoned awards passed by the quasijudicial authority.”
In view of the above, it is clear that the appellantfirm was granted sufficient opportunity of hearing by the Ombudsman before passing of the impugned awards. Hence, we do not find any case for interference in the impugned order passed by the learned Single Judge.
Resultantly, these Special Appeals are dismissed.
(SUDESH BANSAL),J
(VIJAY BISHNOI),J
24 - ms rathore
3 issues framed by the court
Whether the appellant was deprived of a hearing before the Ombudsman passed the blacklisting awards.
Whether the High Court should interfere in the Single Judge's order dismissing the Special Appeals.
Whether the findings of the Ombudsman regarding the furnishing of fictitious bills are disputed questions of fact.
M/s. Pooja Constructon Company
The State Of Rajasthan
The District Collector, Hanumangarh
Additional District Programme Convener And Chief Executive Officer, Zila Parishad, Hanumangarh
Programme Officer And Vikash Adhikari, Panchayat Samiti- Nohar
Kaluram S/o Shri Chanduram
VIJAY BISHNOI
SUDESH BANSAL
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
