The Travancore Devaswom Board vs. The Deputy Director
Held
The High Court granted approval for the estimate and award of the contract for the maintenance work. It also directed that all future Maramath Petitions seeking contract approval above Rs. 20 lakhs must be accompanied by specific documents, including tender notification, work estimate, e-tender documents, bids, and relevant registers, to facilitate timely audit remarks.
Facts
The Travancore Devaswom Board sought High Court approval for an estimate of Rs. 64,10,000/- (including 18% GST) and the award of a contract for maintenance work at Kumbalathu Sankupillai Memorial Devaswom Board College. The work was e-tendered, and the lowest bid was accepted, but court sanction was required as the amount exceeded Rs. 20 lakhs.
Key Issues
The key legal issues were whether to grant approval for the maintenance contract for the college and to establish clear procedural guidelines for the Travancore Devaswom Board regarding documentation submission for future contract approvals requiring court sanction.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL K. NARENDRAN & THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HARISANKAR V. MENON TUESDAY, THE 11TH DAY OF JUNE 2024 / 21ST JYAISHTA, 1946 DBP NO. 51 OF 2024 IN THE MATTER OF TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM BOARD - REPORT NO.14 OF 2024 IN PETITION NO.4 OF 2024 - APPROVAL OF ESTIMATE AND AWARD OF CONTRACT FOR THE WORK OF KUMBALATHU SANKUPILLAI MEMORIAL DEVASWOM BOARD COLLEGE SASTHAMCOTTA IN KARUNAGAPPALLY GROUP- MAINTENANCE TO THE CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT - SUO MOTU PROCEEDINGS INITIATED – REG. PETITIONER:
THE TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM BOARD REPRESENTED BY ITS EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, MAVELIKKARA DIVISION, MAVELIKKARA-690101
BY SRI.G.BIJU, SC, TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM BOARD - TDB
RESPONDENT:
*THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR LOCAL FUND AUDIT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695003
*DESCRIPTION OF THE RESPONDENT IS SUO MOTU CORRECTED AS THE SENIOR DEPUTY DIRECTOR, STATE AUDIT DEPARTMENT, TRAVANCORE DEVASWOM BOARD AUDIT, NANTHANCODE, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM AS PER ORDER DATED 11.06.2024 IN DBP
SR. GP- SRI. S. RAJMOHAN; AMICUS CURIAE FOR OMBUDSMAN- SRI. P. RAMACHANDRAN THIS DEVASWOM BOARD PETITION HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 11.06.2024
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