A party must participate in a tender process to maintain the right to challenge related settlements; acquiescence can bar claims where a party fails to act timely.

JUDGMENT & ORDER :

MANISH CHOUDHURY, J.

1. Invoking the extra-ordinary and discretionary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners have preferred the present writ petition with the following prayers :-

In the premises aforesaid, it is prayed that Your Lordship may be pleased to admit this petition, call for records, issue Rule calling upon the Respondents to show cause as to why :

[i] a writ of certiorari shall not be issued by setting aside the impugned letter dated 04.11.2022 issued by the Managing Director, Assam Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd.; whereby, the Baiya Beel Fishery in the district of Hailakandi was settled in favour of the respondent no. 6 for a period of 7 years from the financial year 2022-2023 to 2028-2029 pursuant to the impugned tender process initiated by the Re-Tender Notice No. 14/2022 dated 19.09.2022 issued by the Managing Director, Assam Fisheries Development Corporation Limited;

[ii] a writ of certiorari shall not be issued by setting aside the impugned Deed of Agreement of Fishery Management under the Assam Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd. dated 09.11.2022 executed between the Assam Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd. and the respondent no. 6 for fishing upon the total land measuring 20.00 hector in the aforesaid Baiya Beel Fishery from 01.04.2022 to 31.03.2029.

[iii] a writ of certiorari shall not be issued by setting aside the impugned Order dated 08.04.2022 issued by the Managing Director, Assam Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd.; inasmuch as thereby the settlement order dated 13.08.2021 of the fishery with the petitioner society pursuant to the Tender Notice No. 02/2021 dated 12.02.2021 was recalled;

[iv] a writ of mandamus shall not be issued directing the respondent authorities, more particularly the Managing Director, Assam Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd., to give effect to the settlement order dated 13.08.2021 of the fishery with the petitioner without requiring any bank guarantee pursuant to the Tender Notice No. 02/2021 dated 12.02.2021 by executing the necessary deed of agreement.

2. The petitioner no. 1 is a registered fishery cooperative society comprised of fishermen and the petitioner no. 2 is its chairman. For the purpose of easy reference, they would henceforth be referred to as the petitioner or the petitioner society, for ease of reference.

3. From the prayers, quoted above, it transpires that the petitioner society has assailed an Order dated 08.04.2022 passed by the respondent no. 2 whereby a Settlement Order dated 13.08.2021 passed in favour of the petitioner society settling a fishery, Baiya Beel Fishery [‘the Fishery’, for short] pursuant to a Tender Notice no. 02/2021 dated 12.02.2021 had been recalled. The petitioner society has also sought for a direction to the respondent authorities in the Assam Fisheries Development Corporation [AFDC] Ltd. to give effect to the Settlement Order dated 13.08.2021 without requiring the petitioner society to deposit any bank guarantee and by executing the necessary contract agreement. The petitioner society has also sought for setting aside of an Order dated 04.11.2022 passed by the respondent no. 2 granting settlement of the Fishery in favour of the respondent no. 6 for a period of seven years from the Financial Year : 2022 – 2023 up to the Financial Year 2028-2029. The petitioner society has also sought setting aside of the Deed of Agreement which the respondent no. 2 had entered into with the respondent no. 6 pursu