Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Jan 7: High Court has held that no direction can be issued against the J&K Cricket Association (JKCA) in private disputes and asked the contractor to work out a remedy for his claim.
Justice Sanjay Dhar while dismissing the petition of M/S Aisha Construction who claims admitted liability to the tune of Rs. 6 crores towards JKCA has held that JKCA is amenable to writ jurisdiction of the Court in matters that fall within the ambit of public law acts.
Court however has made it clear that no mandamus can be issued against the JKCA in respect of the acts which fall in the sphere of private law. “…it is held that the instant petition is not maintainable. Therefore, without commenting upon the merits of the case and without commenting on the issue whether the claim of the petitioner is barred by limitation, the instant writ petition is dismissed with liberty to the petitioner to work out its remedy, as may be available to it under law”, Justice Dhar concluded.
The petitioner claims that he was awarded work contract for construction of Pavilion Building No.1 at JKCA, Head Quarters, Srinagar, and the estimate of the work was at Rs.1.75 crores, awarded work order for construction of building No.2 at JKCA Headquarter, Srinagar, for an estimate of Rs.1,67,42,000 and awarded work for construction of building No.3 at JKCA Headquarter, Srinagar, at an estimated cost of Rs.5,34,12,670.
It has been submitted that out of the works executed by the petitioner, money has been released but the balance amount of Rs.6 crores has not been released which constrained him to knock the portals of this court.
Court said that even contractual obligations of a State or an instrumentality of a State can be enforced by having resort to the writ proceedings. However, in the instant case, the court is not dealing with a State or an instrumentality of the State.
“Thus, if the nature of duty imposed on a body is public in nature, it is amenable to writ jurisdiction under Article 226 but if the rights sought to be enforced are purely of a private character, mandamus cannot be issued against such body”, Justice Dhar clarified.
Court said a private body like JKCA, would be amenable to writ jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution but the judicial review of its actions by the High Court would be confined to only those actions which have the element of public duty and its actions which have the character of private law rights are not amenable to the writ jurisdiction of the High Court.
Through the medium of instant petition court added, the petitioner-contractor is seeking enforcement of a contractual obligation of JKCA, which falls within the realm of private law.
It is not a case court added, where the petitioner is seeking enforcement of any obligation against JKCA which constitutes a public duty or public function of the respondent-JKCA, but it is a case where the petitioner is seeking enforcement of a contractual obligation which is purely a private matter between the petitioner and JKCA. “Therefore, no mandamus would lie against respondent-JKCA to enforce such an obligation”, the Court has held.
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