Authority: High Court at Calcutta (Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction Appellate Side)

Order Date: 30 October 2026

Case Overview

  • Petitioners: Guruvayoor Infrastructure Private Limited (GIPL) and others filed writ petition WPA/17965/2026 seeking payment of transfer remittance and release of receivables lying in escrow accounts of IDFC First Bank Ltd (respondent No.1) in favour of respondent No.2 (National Highways Authority of India, NHAI).
  • Respondent No.1 (IDFC First Bank) contended that the petition is not maintainable because both respondents are companies under the Companies Act, 2013 engaged in banking business and do not perform any public function; additionally, NHAI, a necessary party to the underlying escrow agreement, was not joined.
  • Petitioners relied on Bombay High Court judgment in IRB Ahmedabad Vadodra Super Express Tollay Pvt. Ltd. vs. Union of India (W.P. No. 3415 of 2019) and Supreme Court judgment in Andi Mukta Sadguru Shree Muktajee Vandas Swami Suvarna Jayanti Mahotsav Smarak Trust vs. V.R. Rudani (1989) 2 SCC 691, arguing that private bodies performing public duties can be subject to Article 226.
  • Respondent No.1 distinguished those judgments, emphasizing that banking entities have no public duty, citing Supreme Court decision in S. Shobha vs. Muthoot Finance Ltd. (2025) 11 SCC 335, paragraphs 7 and 9.4, which held that scheduled banks are not public functionaries.
  • The Court examined the factual differences, noting that the Bombay High Court case involved the Union of India and NHAI as parties, unlike the present case where NHAI is absent.
  • The Court reiterated the Supreme Court’s pronouncement that “any person or authority” under Article 226 includes bodies performing public duties, but clarified that a banking company does not owe such a duty.
  • The Court also observed that non‑joinder of NHAI, a necessary party to the escrow agreement, defeats the petition.

Final Outcome

  • The writ petition WPA/17965 of 2026 is dismissed as not maintainable; no order as to costs.
  • Connected applications, if any, are also dismissed; interim orders, if any, are vacated.
  • An urgent certified photostat copy of the order will be provided to the parties upon compliance with formalities.

Topics: Writ Petition, Banking Law, Public Duty