Mayur Talukdar vs State Of Assam

Heard Mr. M. Dutta, learned counsel for the petitioner; Mr. M. Chetia, learned Junior Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent nos. 1 and 4; and Mr. S.P. Das, learned Standing Counsel, Skill Employment & Entrepreneurship Department for the respondent nos. 2 and 3.

The projected case of the petitioner, in brief, is that after award of a contract-work, viz. “Construction of Administrative Building, Class Room, Drawing Hall, Office Room, Library, Workshop, Grade IV Quarter, Boundary wall and approach Road etc. at ITI Mangaldoi” [‘the Contract-Work’, for short], the petitioner execute a contract agreement with the respondent no. 2 for the said Contract-Work. Thereafter, the petitioner proceeded to execute the Contract-Work.

2.1 During the execution of the Contract-Work, the petitioner was asked to carry out certain additional work which, according to the petitioner, was also duly carried out. According to the petitioner, the total value of the additional work he had carried out along with the Contract-Work was Rs. 98,91,000/-. After execution of the Contract-Work as well as the additional work, the petitioner submitted his final bills for payment. The respondent authorities had disbursed the final bill amount in respect of the Contract-Work. Insofar as the final bill amount with regard to the additional work is concerned, the same was not paid till the institution of the writ petition.

The learned counsel for the parties are not in dispute that during the pendency of the writ petition, an amount of Rs 75,00,000/- has been disbursed in favour of the petitioner in respect of the said additional work.

From a communication bearing no. DET[A]T-41/2009/ITI/MANGALDOI/523 dated 21.10.2021 of the respondent no. 2, it transpires that the Government had released FoC for an amount of Rs. 75,00,000/- against the additional work under reference, out of a total bill amount of Rs. 96.23452 Lakh and accordingly, the said amount of Rs. 75,00,000/- was disbursed to the petitioner which included all permissible deductions. It has thus emerged that an amount of Rs. 21,23,452/- has still remain outstanding to be paid to the petitioner for the work under reference.

Today, Mr. Das has placed a communication dated 29.04.2022 of the respondent no. 2, addressed to the Government in the Skill Employment and Entrepreneurship Department whereby a status report in respect of the present writ petition has been furnished. By the said communication, the respondent no. 2 has stated that after payment of Rs. 75,00,000/- earlier in the month of October, 2021, the remaining amount shall be disbursed on availability of fund from the budget for the current financial year with due approval.

Mr. Das, learned Standing Counsel, Skill Employment & Entrepreneurship Department has submitted that the instant case is a case of admitted liability and therefore, can be disposed of at this stage in terms of the Full Bench judgment of this Court, rendered on 29.09.2008, in Writ Appeal no. 484/2005[Tamsher Ali and Ors. Vs. State of Assam and Ors.], reported in 2008 [4] GLT 1 [FB] and similar other 194 writ petitions and the respondent authorities will consider the claim of the petitioner in the light of the principles enunciated in the aforesaid judgment.

In view of the above submissions made by Mr. Das and considering the fact that an amount of Rs. 21,23,452/- has still remaining outstanding to be paid, this Court is under considered view that instead of keeping this writ petition is pending, the same can be disposed of at the admission stage itself in with a direction to the respondent no. 2 i.e. the Director, Employment and Craftsmen Training, Assam to process the claim of the petitioner amounting to Rs. 21,23,452/- for disbursal in accordance with law and in the light of the directions contained in Tamsher Ali [Supra]. It is expected that the entire process would be completed in an expeditious, preferably within a period of six months from the date of submission of a certified copy of this order by the petitioner at the office of the respondent no. 2.

This order disposes of the writ petition.