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Judgment
P.B.Suresh Kumar, J
The Petitioner is a PWD contractor. He was holding 'A' class licence. The licence of the petitioner was due to expire on 31.03.2020. In terms of
the provisions contained in the PWD Manual, the petitioner should have applied for renewal of the licence on or before 31.12.2019 and if not, on or
before 31.01.2020 with the penalty provided for under the Manual for delayed applications. In view of the pandemic, Covid-19, the Government
enlarged the time limit for preferring the application for renewal of the licence till 30.06.2020. The petitioner remitted the fee for the application for
renewal of the licence on 02.07.2020 and submitted the application for renewal thereafter on 14.07.2020. It is stated by the petitioner that he was
undergoing treatment for rheumatism from 04.06.2020 to 02.07.2020 at SAVM Ayurveda Hospital located within a containment zone declared by the
Government as part of the restrictions imposed for prevention of the pandemic and consequently, he could not submit the application on or before
30.06.2020. The petitioner therefore, seeks appropriate directions in this regard in this writ petition.
A statement has been filed by the third respondent contending that the licence of the petitioner cannot be renewed since he has not preferred the
application within the time stipulated.
Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner as also the learned Government Pleader.
It is seen that a similar matter, namely, W.P. (C) No.7331 of 2019 was disposed of by this court directing the competent authority to re-consider
belated applications for renewal of licence. Be that as it may, the specific case of the petitioner is that he was under treatment from 04.06.2020 to
02.07.2020, that too, in a Hospital located within a containment zone. In the circumstances, having regard to the fact that the petitioner has preferred
the application for renewal of the licence within a fortnight after the expiry of the time limit prescribed for the same and having regard to the fact that
the licence is sought to be renewed to eke out a livelihood for him, in the absence of any statutory prescription as regards the time limit for preferring
application for renewal of licence and any disqualification for the petitioner to hold the licence, I deem it appropriate to dispose of the writ petition
directing the second respondent to renew the licence of the petitioner, if the application is otherwise in order. This shall be done within two months. It
is clarified that if the application is defective, the petitioner shall be given an opportunity to cure the defects.