SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
S. MURTAZA FAZAL ALI: O. CHINNAPPA REDDY AND E.S. VENKATARAMIAH, JJ.
Smt. Aslhing, Appellant
Versus
L.S. John and others, Respondents.
Civil Appeal No. 1189 of 1982
Decided on 22-11-1983
Election appeal - Nomination paper - Contract - Widening PLP road - Respondent No. 1 filed his nomination paper he held a subsisting contract with Government for widening PLP road - While it is true that there was such a contract in existence prior - Respondent No. 1 wrote a letter to concerned Executive Engineer stating that he was closing said contract - Last date for filing nomination - It is argued that contents of said letter does not have effect of putting an end to contract - After going through contents of the letter it is absolutely clear that contractor unilaterally put an end to contract and informed Department concerned accordingly and also he had resigned from contractors list of PWD – Held,contract came to an end by breach and contract was no longer subsisting - Submitted some very nice and delicate questions for consideration, one of them being that until and unless letter is accepted by the authority contract would continue and thus respondent would suffer from disqualification - In Court opinion having regard to contents of letter it is not possible to accept argument that contract was subsisting - Acceptance of letter by authorities was unnecessary for putting an end to contract althougth breach may give rise to a cause of action for damages - Appeal dismissed.
JUDGMENT
FAZAL ALI, J:— In this election appeal the only point for determination is whether at the time when respondent No. 1 filed his nomination paper he held a subsisting contract with the Government for widening the PLP road. While it is true that there was such a contract in existence prior to 30-11-1979. Respondent No. 1 wrote a letter on 30-11-1979 to the concerned Executive Engineer stating that he was closing the said contract. The last date for filing nomination was 10-12-1979. It is argued that the contents of the said letter does not have the effect of putting an end to the contract. After going through the contents of the letter it is absolutely clear that the contractor unilaterally put an end to the contract and informed the Department concerned accordingly and also he had resigned from the contractors list of PWD Manipur. Thus after this letter the contract came to an end by breach and the contract was no longer subsisting. Mr. Rangarajan has submitted some very nice and delicate questions for consideration, one of them being that until and unless the letter is accepted by the authority the contract would continue and thus the respondent would suffer from the disqualification. In our opinion having regard to the contents of the letter it is not possible to accept the argument of Mr. Rangarajan that the contract was subsisting. The acceptance of the letter by the authorities was unnecessary for putting an end to the contract althougth the breach may give rise to a cause of action for damages. No other point is raised before us. We do not find any merit in this appeal and it is dismissed without any order as to costs.
Appeal dismissed.
For Citation: AIR 1984 SC 988 = 1984(1) SCC 205 = 1983(2) Scale 813 = 1984(1) SCR 83 = 1984 UJ(SC) 154
Login now and unlock free premium legal research
Login to SupremeToday AI and access free legal analysis, AI highlights, and smart tools.
Login
now!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
Copyright © 2023 Vikas Info Solution Pvt Ltd. All Rights Reserved.