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2025 Supreme(Raj) 2120
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR
SUNIL BENIWAL, J.
M/s Ns Technomac, Through Its Proprietor Sandeep Kumar Kankariya S/o Shri Dulichand Kankria - Petitioner
Versus
State Of Rajasthan - Respondent
S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 5929 of 2024
Decided on : 10-09-2025
For the Petitioner: Mr. Ashok Upadhyay, Mr. Ashwani Kumar Sharma, Mr. Ramesh Kumar
For the Respondent: Mr. S.S. Rathore, AAG, Ms. Mehali Mehta
The court held that in contractual matters, extensions of time are not warranted without compelling evidence of external factors hindering completion.
Headnote:(A) Relevant laws related to contractual obligations and public procurement.
(B) The petitioner sought extension for completion of work based on claims of external hindrances, while the respondents contended that the delay was due to the petitioner’s actions.
(C) The court analyzed the submissions of both parties.
(D) The core issue was whether the petitioner had completed the required work satisfactorily within the time limits set. (E) The court concluded that no extension of time could be granted as the petitioner failed to meet contractual obligations. (F) The final decision dismissed the writ petition for lack of merit. (G) The parties involved included the petitioner and various state engineering departments. (H) No dissenting opinions were noted.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. recent nit challenges and contract rescission details. (Para 1 , 2) |
| 2. petitioner's claims of externalities causing delays. (Para 3 , 4) |
| 3. court's perspective on assertions and completion status. (Para 5 , 6) |
| 4. final decision on time extension and merits of petition. (Para 7) |
| 5. dismissal of petition due to lack of substantial evidence. (Para 8) |
ORDER :
SUNIL BENIWAL, J.
1. The present writ petition has been filed aggrieved of the fresh NIT dated 04.03.2024 (Annexure-7) to the extent of bids sought qua NIT No.126/2020-21, 123/2020-21 and 127/2020-21 so also the orders dated 18.05.2023 (Annexure-4) whereby three contracts of the petitioner have been rescinded by the respondent- Department and penalty has been imposed on account of non- completion of work allotted to the petitioner in pursuance of NIT No.126/2020-21, 123/2020-21 and 127/2020-21.
2. Facts as pleaded in the writ petition are that the petitioner was issued work orders vide communications dated 20.04.2021 (Annexure-2) for the following:
(i) Work of P/L/J testing and commissioning of Pipe Line, Construction & Commissioning of TW, RCC ESR and CWR, Construction of Pump House & Boundary Wall, Providing and installation of Pump Set, FHTCs etc. with defect liability period (with O&M) of 12 months at Conversion from P&T to piped water supply scheme Bhattapura, Tehsil Nagar, Distt. Bharatpur in pursuance of NIT No.126/2020-21.
(ii) Work of P/L/J testing and commissioning of Pipe Line, Construction & Commissioning of TW, RCC ESR and CWR, Construction of Pump House & Boundary Wall, Providing and installation of Pump Set, FHTCs etc. with defect liability period (with O&M) of 12 months at Augmentation of RWSS Sundrawali, Tehsil Nagar, Distt. Bharatpur in pursuance of NIT No.123/2020-21.
(iii) Work of P/L/J testing and commissioning of Pipe Line, Construction & Commissioning of TW, RCC ESR and CWR, Construction of Pump House & Boundary Wall, Providing and installation of Pump Set, FHTCs etc. with defect liability period (with O&M) of 12 months at Conversion from P&T to piped water supply scheme Semli, Tehsil Nagar, Distt. Bharatpur in pursuance of NIT No.127/2020-21.
2.1 The deadline to conclude the above-mentioned work was 30.10.2021 however, petitioner on encountering certain hindrances, approached the respondent-Department vide letters dated 06.02.2023 (Annexure-3) requesting it to resolve the same. 2.2 Since the work allotted to the petitioner was not completed within the prescribed time period, the impugned orders dated 18.05.2023 (Annexure-4) were passed terminating the contracts. Further, penalty of Rs.16,63,259.89/-, Rs.21,17,535.02/- and Rs.15,41,427.40/- was imposed due to non-completion of work allotted pursuant to NIT No.126/2020-21, NIT No.123/2020-21 and NIT No.127/2020-21, respectively.
2.3 The petitioner approached the respondent-Department aggrieved of the impugned orders and sought 45 days’ time to complete pending work. The Department, vide Office orders dated 13.06.2023 (Annexure-5) accepted the report made by petitioner and directed him to complete the pending work within a period of 45 days and the impugned orders were kept in abeyance for 45 days.
2.4 The petitioner could not complete the work in question after the aforesaid grace period and again approached the authorities seeking further extension of time.
2.5 The respondent-Department, while taking note of the fact that petitioner could not complete work even after grace period, issued fresh NIT dated 04.03.2024 (Annexure-7) seeking bids qua NIT No.126/2020-21, NIT No.123/2020-21 and NIT No.127/2020- 21. Petitioner aggrieved of the same so also the termination orders dated 18.05.2023 (Annexure-4) has filed the present writ petition.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner made the following submissions:
(i) The delay caused in completion of work in question is not attributable to the petitioner as it had approached the respondent- Department for resolving the issues faced while carrying out the work.
