Pre-determined Termination of NHAI Highways Projects of TATA Projects
On 12.3.2021, the petitioner was given letter of acceptance for the NH-709A highway project of Rs.940 crores.
On 25.11.2024, the respondent no.1 terminated the contract mid-term for low maintenance and also not completing the project within time.
The above fact positions clearly demonstrate that the only issue between the petitioner and the authority was that, though actual physical possession of land was claimed in the Handover Memorandum as per Article 8 but was not there available on the spot and not only the hindrances were in the form of utilities like electricity lines, bore-wells etc. but there were constructed buildings like mosque, mazar, temple and other boundary walls of the private constructions involving land issues, which led to the repeated correspondence between the petitioner and authorities with no headway except granting extension of time of 42 days and with certain change of scope of work.
What further is very interesting and is quite apparent on face of it that there has been no application of mind by the authority while passing the order impugned as both the notice of proposed termination of contract dated 23rd December, 2024 and the order impugned dated 14th January, 2025 are verbatim same. Paragraph 2 of the order impugned is the same word by word as paragraph 2 of the notice except reference to the dates letter of the Authority’s Engineer dated 17th December, 2024 and 4th January, 2025 and reply letter of the petitioner dated 3rd January, 2025. We have already discussed above that the Authority’s Engineer letter dated 17th October, 2024 was absolutely contrary to what he had submitted on 10th July, 2024 requesting for extension of time of 248 days citing reasons for the same. However, what is very surprising is that detailed reply submitted by the petitioner referring to the various progress related reports, photographs, hindrances and the issues like land issues etc. that we have already discussed above in the fact position, nothing was considered as if authority was sitting with a pre-determined mind to terminate the contract of the petitioner mid-term, whatever be 45 WRIC No. – 4559 of 2025 his reply. This shows that there is absolutely non-application of mind by the authority.
This amounts to an unfair practice on part of the State. The act of a party which is State under Article 12 in this case is found to be arbitrary one against affect work of public importance and so this Court will not shirk away from its responsibility in arresting any miscarriage of justice in larger public interest. Delay in construction of national highway as a project, if caused due to reasons for the negligence and carelessness and arbitrariness on the part of the State as one of the parties of the contract, the Court is certainly justified lift the corporate veil to understand the exact reasons for such actions impugned in this petition.
Judgment dated 8.7.2026 of the High Court at Allahabad in Writ – C No.4559 of 2025 of Tat Projects Limited Vs. Union of India and two others.
