IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA

Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction

Appellate Side

Present :- Hon’ble Justice Amrita Sinha

WPA 3234 of 2025

With

WPA 14430 of 2025

JWL Kovis (India) Private Limited & Anr.

Vs.

Union of India & Ors.

For the writ petitioners :- Mr. Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, Sr. Adv.

Mr. Anirban Ray, Sr. Adv.

Mr. Sourav Ghosh, Adv.

Mr. Debjit Mukherjee, Adv.

Mr. Subhankar Nag, Adv.

Mr. Debraj Sahu, Adv.

Mr. Snehashis Sen, Adv. Ms. Priyanka Jana, Adv.

For the Union of India :- Mr. Pinaki Ranjan Chatterjee, Adv.

Mr. Guddu Singh, Adv.

Hearing concluded on :- 19.08.2025 Judgment on :- 26.08.2025

Amrita Sinha, J.:-

1. The petitioner no. 1 company claims to be engaged in the business of

manufacture of railway wagons, components for passenger coaches, alloys steel casting for rolling stack and track. The petitioner no. 2

claims to be the Chief Executive Officer of the petitioner no. 1.

2. The petitioners in WPA 3234 of 2025 challenged the order passed by

the respondents downgrading the petitioner company from the ‘list of

approved vendors, to the ‘list of RDSO vendors for developmental orders’. The aforesaid order was preceded by a show cause notice to which the petitioners submitted its reply. The order impugned was appealable before the appellate forum.

3. At the time of filing of the said writ petition it was brought to the notice of the Court that the appeal preferred by the petitioners was pending consideration. The Court directed the appellate authority to consider and dispose of the petitioners’ appeal in accordance with law within a stipulated time period. The appeal preferred by the petitioners stood rejected and the order of the appellate authority has been challenged in the subsequent writ petition filed by the petitioners being WPA 14430 of 2025.

4. Both the writ petitions are taken up for consideration analogously and are being disposed of by this common judgment.

5. The petitioner company was issued a contract for manufacture of standardised brake disk for LHB coaches by the Indian Railways. The brake disks were to be manufactured as per the drawing approved by the Research Designs and Standards of Organisation (‘RDSO’ for short). The prototype of the brake disks was to be inspected by RDSO and after prototype clearance, the brake disks was to be subjected to field trial.

6. The inspecting authority of the railways was to make audit checks of the manufacture procedure to ensure that the item offered for inspection is manufactured strictly as per the Internal Quality Assurance System and the inspection authority was to see from the records of Internal Quality Assurance that the raw material used for the manufacture of brake disks is as per the specification laid down.

7. The brake disks are subjected to field trials on minimum 18 coaches (preferably one rake) for a minimum of nine months or 1,00,000 km, whichever is earlier. Only after satisfactory performance of the brake disks in field trials, the disks offered may be considered for regular service in the Indian Railways. As per the Quality Assurance Plan Revision 2 (QAP 2) effective from 5^th September, 2022 the brake plate casting was required to be outsourced from Kovis, Slovenia.

8. A show cause notice was issued to the petitioner in November, 2024 mentioning that the firm has not sourced the item from M/s. Kovis, Slovenia as mentioned in the approved Quality Assurance Plan. The petitioner was advised to explain why penal action should not be initiated for not following the approved QAP for sourcing of raw material for manufacture and supply of standardised brake disks for LHB coaches.

9. A detailed reply was given by the petitioners mentioning that being inspired by the initiative taken by the Hon’ble Prime Minister to encourage the Make in India Policy, the petitioner company has started producing finished product from the raw materials in India itself.

10. It was mentioned that the quality of the products made in India was tested by the Kovis team of Slovenia and training was provided