Authority: High Court at Calcutta, Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri (Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction)
Order Date: 28 September 2026
Case Overview
- Petitioner: Mahendra Food Private Limited; Respondents: State of West Bengal and others, including Chairman, Mal Municipality (2nd respondent).
- Work order issued by Chairman, Mal Municipality on 11 August 2023 for supply, erection, installation and delivery of Sunway 15 WP LED solar street lighting system.
- Mahendra Food supplied the material and raised bills; Municipality expressed dissatisfaction with quality via letter dated 22 March 2024 requesting work‑related documents.
- Petitioner responded with required documents on 2 April 2024; physical verification of material/work conducted by authority on 13 May 2024.
- Petitioner filed a representation seeking disbursal of dues on 22 December 2025; the representation remains pending and payment is overdue.
Final Outcome
- The Court disposes of WPA 2041 of 2026 without any order as to costs.
- The Chairman, Mal Municipality, is directed to consider and dispose of the petitioner’s pending representation within four weeks from communication of this order, after granting a reasonable opportunity of hearing to all concerned, including the petitioner.
- The authority must communicate its decision to the petitioner within one week of the disposal and must verify the genuineness of the petitioner’s claim before taking any consequential steps, subject to the petitioner complying with all necessary formalities.
- No affidavit was invited; therefore, allegations in the writ petition are not deemed admitted.
- An urgent certified website copy of the order may be provided upon compliance with requisite formalities.
Topics: Legal Dispute, Public Procurement, Municipal Payments