IMPORTANT POINT
The main legal point established in the judgment is the application of the doctrine of forum conveniens in determining the territorial jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

JUDGMENT

Prateek Jalan, J.

1. The petitioner has approached this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for the following reliefs:

"(a) to issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ(s)/order(s)/direction(s) to quash and set aside the Letter dated 01.06.2022 issued by Respondent No. 2;

(b) to issue a writ of mandamus or any other suitable writ(s)/order(s)/direction(s) to direct Respondent No. 2 to provide electrification through the 33KV Switching Station at Sector 95, Gurugram, Haryana, situated at Respondent no.3's land to Petitioner's project, NBCC Heights, at Sector 89, Gurugram, Haryana; and

(c) to pass such other orders, or grant such other reliefs, as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of this case."

2. The petitioner is a Public Sector Undertaking, whose head office is situated in New Delhi. However, as the writ petition pertains to a project of the petitioner located in Gurugram, Haryana, notice was issued by an order dated 13.01.2023 on the limited aspect of territorial jurisdiction of this Court. By this judgment, I propose to deal with this aspect of the matter.

A. Factual background and pleadings in the writ petition.

3. The petitioner has impleaded three parties as respondents in the writ petition. Respondent No. 1- Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam [hereinafter, "the Nigam"], is a power distribution utility company owned by the Government of Haryana. It has been impleaded through its Chief Engineer (Operation) at its address in New Delhi. Respondent No. 2 is the Executive Engineer (OP) Division of the Nigam, who has been impleaded at an office address in Gurugram, Haryana. Respondent No. 3 is a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, which has been impleaded at an office in New Delhi.

4. The writ petition pertains to a housing project of the petitioner located in Gurugram, Haryana. On 09.03.2015, the petitioner, from its site office in Gurugram, applied to the Nigam, also at its Gurugram address, for approval of electrical load and scheme. By a communication dated 10.05.2016 addressed by the Chief Engineer of the Nigam, from his Delhi Office, to the Superintending Engineer, 'OP' Circle in Gurugram, sanction was accorded to the petitioner's project. The petitioner was copied on this letter, at its Gurugram address. The petitioner relies upon this communication to establish its right to sanction.

5. It appears that the respondent No. 3 also had a housing project situated proximate to the petitioner's project in Gurugram. The petitioner, respondent No. 3 and other developers with projects in the same area, entered into certain arrangements for sharing of infrastructure for the electrification of their projects. These included a Memorandum of Understanding dated 05.11.2020 and a Gift Deed dated 10.08.2021, executed by respondent No. 3 in favour of respondent No. 1.

6. The petitioner's challenge in the writ petition is to a communication dated 01.06.2022 addressed by respondent No. 2, from the Nigam's Gurugram office, to respondent No. 3, also at its project in Gurugram. By the aforesaid letter, the Nigam observed that the petitioner's project is located at a distance of 3.5 kilometers from the switching station created by respondent No. 3, and decided that formation of a group between the petitioner and respondent No. 3, for sharing of the switching station, was not technically feasible. A copy of this letter was also forwarded to the petitioner at its Gurugram office. The petitioner has annexed further correspondence between it and respondent No. 3, which is not germane to the determination of the question of territorial jurisdiction with which we are presently concerned.

7. The petitioner thereafter addressed a representation dated 06.06.2022 to the Chief Engineer (Operations) of the respondent No. 1 at Gurugram. Another communication annexed to the petition, between the petitioner and the Nigam, is a letter dated 21.09.2022 from the Nigam to the pe