Santosh Kumar Sharma vs. Chandigarh Industrial Tourism Development Corporation LTD

Held

The Court noted that the respondent-Corporation had withdrawn an eviction letter dated 01.03.2018 and allowed the petitioner an extension of the remaining contract period of two years until 05.06.2019. This extension was granted at a monthly license fee of ₹2,07,111/- plus 18% GST, on the same terms as the existing contract, subject to the petitioner depositing 12 post-dated cheques in advance and ensuring timely payment of the monthly license fee by the 7th of every month in advance. In light of these developments, the Court found that the present writ petition had been rendered infructuous. The Court disposed of the petition accordingly, with a liberty to the respondent-Corporation to take recourse in accordance with law if the petitioner defaulted in payment as stipulated in the order dated 12.04.2018. The petitioner was also granted liberty to revive the petition if any grievance subsisted.

Facts

The petitioner, Santosh Kumar Sharma, was allotted booth No. 4 at Chef Lakeview, Chandigarh for confectionary business in 2014. His allotment was initially for three years, extendable for another two. The respondent-Corporation issued a show cause notice for alleged violation of Clause 23 of the allotment letter (subletting/parting with possession) and subsequently terminated his allotment on 21.08.2014. This termination was challenged and set aside by the High Court in CWP No. 23216 of 2015. The petitioner applied for extension of his license, which was declined without reason. The respondent then issued a public notice on 23.05.2017 inviting tenders for the booth. The petitioner challenged this notice and the eviction letter dated 16.05.2017 in CWP No. 12780 of 2017, where the court directed status quo subject to the petitioner paying monthly rent equivalent to the highest bid. Subsequently, the respondent issued an e-tender notice dated 05.12.2017 for the same booth, which the petitioner impugned in the present writ petition, alleging violation of the previous court order. The respondent later withdrew an eviction letter and allowed the petitioner an extension of two years till 05.06.2019, subject to certain conditions regarding payment of license fee and post-dated cheques.

Key Issues

1. Whether the e-tender notice dated 05.12.2017 issued by the respondent-Corporation for allotment of booth No. 4 at Chef Lakeview, Chandigarh is in violation of the order dated 01.06.2017 passed by this Court in CWP No. 12780 of 2017, which directed parties to maintain status quo regarding possession, subject to the petitioner paying monthly rent equivalent to the highest bid received by the respondents pursuant to the tender. Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that the issuance of the e-tender notice dated 05.12.2017 was in direct contravention of the status quo order granted by the Court, which was meant to preserve the situation pending resolution of the dispute regarding his license extension and the allotment of the booth. Respondent's contention: The respondent-Corporation contended that the petitioner's writ petition had become infructuous as they had allowed him an extension for the remaining tenure of the license period of two years, from 04.06.2017 to 05.06.2019, and had issued a letter to this effect on 12.04.2018. They stated that the petitioner had agreed to pay the monthly rent equivalent to the highest bid as per the court's order.