Trinayani Trust And Anr. vs. The Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation And Ors.
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The petitioners, Trinayani Trust & Anr., filed a writ petition seeking a direction for the disbursement of bills amounting to Rs. 4,87,246/-, including GST and LW cess, against a work order (NIT no. 1136/PWD/BMC/ dated 14.6.2021). The petitioners submitted that they had executed the work satisfactorily, as evidenced by a certificate from the Executive Engineer of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) dated 2.2.2023, and had also made representations regarding the non-disbursement of their bills, including one dated 22.9.2025. The BMC, represented by Mr. Dey, acknowledged that the petitioners had completed the job and that the respondents were in the process of disbursing the due amounts.
Held
The Court held that the municipal authorities ought not to withhold the lawful and just dues of the petitioners. The reasoning was based on the fact that the petitioners had been entrusted with work to the extent of Rs. 4,87,246/- (including GST and LW cess) against a quoted amount of Rs. 4,33,870/- (excluding GST). Crucially, a certificate dated 2.2.2023 from the Executive Engineer confirmed the satisfactory execution of the work, specifically the construction of a masonry box drain, to the full satisfaction of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation. The ratio decidendi is that once work is satisfactorily completed and certified by the relevant authority, the municipal body is obligated to disburse the legitimate payments promptly. The Court directed the municipal authorities to forthwith process the petitioners’ bills and disburse the just dues as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of 6 weeks from the date of communication of the order.
Key Issues
1. Whether the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is legally obligated to disburse the lawful and just dues of the petitioners for the work executed under the work order dated 14.6.2021, considering the completion certificate issued by its Executive Engineer. Petitioner's contention: The petitioners argued that they had satisfactorily executed the work as per the work order and completion certificate, and despite their representations, the bills remained undisbursed. They relied on the work order and the Executive Engineer's certificate to demonstrate completion and satisfaction. Respondent's contention: The BMC, through its counsel, submitted that the petitioners had indeed completed the job and that the respondents were in the process of disbursing the amounts due and payable to the petitioners.
Sections Cited
None explicitly discussed or named in the judgment.
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Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances
order NIT no.1136/PWD/BMC/ dated 14.6.2021 amounting to Rs.4,87,246/- including GST and LW cess.
Ms. Nandy, learned advocate appearing for the petitioners has not only drawn the attention of this Court to the work order dated 14.6.2021 but also to the certificate issued by the Executive Engineer of the BMC dated 2.2.2023 to impress upon this Court that the petitioners have not only executed the work satisfactorily but a completion certificate is in the process of being issued.
2
Ms. Nandy submits that although, the petitioners have issued representation, the bills raised by the petitioners have not been disbursed. In this context, she has placed representation dated 22.9.2025. 4. Mr. Dey, learned advocate appearing for the BMC on instruction submits that in the instant case, the petitioner has, in fact, completed the job and the respondents are in the process of disbursing the amount due and payable to the petitioners.
Having heard the learned advocates appearing for the parties and noting the rival contentions and also noting that the petitioner had been entrusted to execute the job to the extent of Rs.4,87,246/- out of the total quoted amount of Rs.4,33,870/- excluding GST and noting from the certificate dated 2.2.2023 that the work of Construction of massonary box drain at Arabinda Pally from Krishna Biswas House to Jiban Halder under Ward No.21, under the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation to the extent of Rs.4,30,734/-, excluding GST and LW cess, has been executed to the full satisfaction of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, I am of the view that the municipal authorities ought not to withhold the lawful and just dues of the petitioners.
Accordingly, the municipal authorities are directed to forthwith process the petitioners’ bills as expeditiously as possible preferably within a period of 6 weeks from
3 the date of communication of this order and disburse the just dues as payable to the petitioners.
With the above direction and observation, the writ petition is disposed of.
All parties shall act on the basis of the server copy of this order duly downloaded from this Court’s official website. (Raja Basu Chowdhury, J.)
Reproduced from the public record of the Calcutta High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.