Kunj Traders vs State Of West Bengal And Others

Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J

Affidavit-of-service, as well as receipt showing further service, filed in Court today, be taken on record.

Although several notices have been served, none appears on behalf of the respondents when the matter is called on for hearing.

Despite the notification of this Court not to take up matters unless all the parties are represented, this writ petition is taken up for hearing as a 'listed motion' in the absence of the respondents, in view of the extreme urgency pleaded by the petitioner.

The petitioner submits, on the basis of the annexures to the writ petition, that the petitioner was issued a contract on the basis of a previous tender, from the month of January 2020, for a period of three years, to collect the parking fees in a particular area inside the premises of the Asansol-Durgapur District Hospital.

However, when the petitioner went there to collect parking fees, it was found that several anti-socials and local mafia are illegally collecting parking fees therefrom, which is deterring the petitioner from carrying out its work. Accordingly, the petitioner approached the respondent-authorities for removal of such outsiders from the premises, but to no effect.

Instead of paying heed to the request of the petitioner, the respondent-authorities have floated a new tender, even during subsistence of the earlier contract of January, 2020 with the present petitioner.

It is argued that such floating of new tender in respect of the same space for the same job, for which the petitioner's contract is still in subsistence, was patently illegal. As such, challenging the same, the present writ petition has been preferred.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits, on the strength of the notice annexed at page- 36 of the writ petition, that the last date of opening the bids is March 27, 2020 and unless an interim protection is given to the petitioner, the writ petition will become infructuous.

In view of such extreme exigency, the respondents are restrained from opening the bids of the present tender, having Tender Reference Number: ADH/ASL/664, till May 15, 2020 or until further order, whichever is earlier.

The petitioner is granted leave to communicate this order immediately to the respondents.

If so communicated, the respondents shall act on such communication without insisting for a certified copy thereof.

Let the matter next appear for hearing on May 5, 2020 at 10.30 a.m. under the same heading.