The court upheld the administrative decision of blacklisting the petitioner firm, emphasizing the need for restraint in interfering with administrative decisions.

JUDGMENT :

ARUN KUMAR JHA, J.

Heard I.A.No.01 of 2019 for amendment of prayer insofar as challenging the subsequent modified blacklisting order. For the reasons stated in the application and affidavit, I.A. stands allowed.

2. The petitioner is hereby directed to carry out necessary amendment in the prayer during the course of the day.

3. Initially, the present writ petition has been filed claiming the following reliefs :-

“(A) Issuance of writ in the nature of Certiorari quashing the Order dated 24.06.2016 contained in Letter No.2869 (hereinafter referred as “Impugned Order”) whereby the Respondent no.2 has been pleased to blacklist the petitioner firm for indefinite period.

(ii) For any other relief or reliefs for which the petitioner is found to be entitled in the facts and circumstances of the case”.

4. Thereafter, I.A.No.01 of 2019 has been filed for amendment in the writ petition by adding the following relief :

(i) “For quashing the Letter No.3099 dated 20.09.2019 issued by the Managing Director, Bihar State Text Book Publishing Corporation Ltd. by which the (Respondent no.2) whereby and whereunder the order as contained in letter no.2869 dated 24.06.2019 has been modified and passed fresh order during the pendency of the writ application whereby the petitioner has been debarred from doing all types of printing work and further the ordered to blacklisted his firm for ten years.

(ii) The petitioner further prays for direction commanding the respondents to permit the petitioner firm for doing the printing works which has been assigned to his firm.

(iii) For any other relief/reliefs for which the petitioner may be found entitled too”.

5. The short facts, according to the petitioner, are that the Respondent Corporation had invited Expression of Interest (EOI) for publication of educational material for classes 1 to 8 under the Samagra Siksha Abhiyaan for the Academic Year 2019-20 from the empanelled printers/publishers. Pursuant to the calling of EOI by the Respondent Corporation, the petitioner applied for grant of contract for publication of educational materials. For printing the books for the Academic Session 2019-20 under Samagrha Shiksha Abhiyan, the petitioner firm was awarded the work order vide Letter No. 2726 dated 31.03.2019, on the basis of the Expression of Interest, for printing of the books namely Prayavaran and Hum-1 for Class-III and Kislay Bhag-3 for Class-VIII. The said work order contained the various specifications, to be followed by the petitioner firm while publishing the books and the petitioner was also asked to sell the printed books in the open market in terms of conditions prescribed therein. The work order stated that for the purposes of printing of the books, the Corporation shall be supplying the text/sample of the cover of the book/the films for printing the books. It is stated that the Ammonia Proof of the film's shall be first approved by the education section of the Corporation and only thereafter that the printing work would be undertaken by the tenderer-petitioner. The work order further stated that the tenderer/publisher shall be under obligation to submit 25 copies of the published material. It was a condition of the work order that the books would be available for open sale at State, Block and local level within 30 days of the issuance of the work order. Pursuant to the work order, the petitioner firm printed the books and submitted 25 copies each of the printed books i.e. Prayavaran and Hum-1 for Class-III and Kislay Bhog-3 for Class VIII as sample to the Corporation on 14.05.2019, as it was mandatory for the printers to send the printed books first to the Corporation before selling it in the open market. Pursuant to the approval accorded by the Corporation, the petitioner firm supplied the aforesaid printed books to the various shopkeepers for sale in the various districts of the State of Bihar. In the course of distribution, it was realized that the colour combination of the national flag ha