Allahabad High Court
M/S V.N Saur Urja Projects ... vs State Of ... on 24 March, 2021
Bench: Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Manish Kumar
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD, LUCKNOW BENCH
?Court No. - 2
Case :- MISC. BENCH No. - 7104 of 2021
Petitioner :- M/S V.N Saur Urja Projects Pvt.Ltd.Thru.Dir.Neeraj Bajpai
Respondent :- State Of U.P.Thru.Prin.Secy./Chairman Addl.Source Energy&Ors
Counsel for Petitioner :- Anand Mani Tripathi,Anurag Tripathi,Lalit Kishore Tiwari
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Manish Jauhari,Nishant Shukla
Hon'ble Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya,J.
Hon'ble Manish Kumar,J.
Heard learned counsel for the petitioner, learned State Counsel for the respondent no. 1, Sri Nishant Shukla, learned counsel representing the Uttar Pradesh New & Renewable Energy Development Agency, Lucknow. Sri Manish Januari, learned counsel representing the U.P. Power Corporation Ltd., Lucknow has also been heard.
Under challenge in this writ petition is the order dated 08-01-2021 passed by the Director, U.P. New & Renewable Energy Development Agency, whereby the empanelment of the petitioner's firm with the U.P. NEDA has been cancelled and it has been blacklisted.
This court on 18-03-2021 has passed the following order in this case :-
"Heard learned counsel for the petitioner, learned State Counsel for the respondent no. 1 and Sri Nishant Shukla, learned counsel representing the Uttar Pradesh New & Renewable Energy Development Agency, Lucknow.
Under challenge in this writ petition is the order dated 08-01-2021 passed by the Director, U.P. New & Renewable Energy Development Agency, whereby petitioner's firm has been blacklisted after being de-empanelled.
Submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that before passing of the order dated 08-01-2021, no notice or opportunity of hearing was ever given to the petitioner and as such in the light of the Judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Vet India Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Versus State of U.P. & Another reported in 2020 SCC Online SC, 912, in case any order for blacklisting is passed without following the principles of natural justice i.e. without giving any notice or providing opportunity of hearing, the said order of blacklisting cannot be permitted to be sustained.
List/put up this case tomorrow i.e. 19-03-2021.
Learned counsel appearing for the U.P. New & Renewable Energy Development Agency shall seek written instructions from none otherelse than the Secretary or any other competent officer as to whether before passing of the impugned order dated 08-01-2021, any notice or opportunity of hearing was ever given to petitioner's firm or not. "
In deference to the said order, certain instructions have been received by the learned counsel appearing for the U.P. NEDA from the Secretary & Chief Project Officer, U.P. NEDA, which are contained in his letter dated 19-03-2021. The said instructions are taken on record.
As per the said instructions, before passing the order dated 08-01-2021, which is under challenge in this writ petition, no notice to the petitioner was ever given.
In view of the aforesaid facts, it is clear that the impugned order whereby empanelment of petitioner's firm has been cancelled and it has been blacklisted, has been passed in utter violation of principles of natural justice as already observed in our order dated 18-03-2021.
Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Vet India Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Versus State of U.P. & Another reported in 2020 SCC Online SC, 912 has held that the order of blacklisting will be bad in case before passing the same, opportunity of adequate hearing has not been provided. Such a decision will suffer from the vice of non observance of principles of natural justice.
In view of the aforesaid, the impugned order dated 08-01-201 passed by the Director, U.P. New & Renewable Energy Development Agency, as contained in Annexure No. 1 to the writ petition is hereby quashed. The writ petition is thus, allowed.
We further provide that the decision in the matter shall be taken afresh by the appropriate authority of U.P. NEDA, in accordance with law, as also taking into account the observations made hereinabove.
Order Date :- 24.3.2021
AKS
