Court Rules Writ Petition Not Maintainable Without Constitutional or Statutory Right; Sends Reminder Letters Don't Extend Limitation Period
In a significant ruling, the Allahabad High Court dismissed the writ petition filed by Janardan Singh against the State of Uttar Pradesh and others, seeking the release of outstanding payments for contractual work completed in 2016-17. The court, comprising Justices Shekhar B. Saraf and Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary, held that the writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution cannot be invoked for the enforcement of contractual obligations unless there is an involvement of constitutional or statutory rights.
Janardan Singh had petitioned the court to direct the respondents to release payments due for work completed under contracts awarded by the Flood Works Division, District Gonda, for the protection of the Charsari Embankment. Singh contended that despite sending multiple reminder letters over the years, no payments were forthcoming from the state authorities.
However, the court highlighted that the petitioner failed to provide any document where the state admitted liability. The court noted that the claim was now stale, as more than three years had elapsed since the cause of action arose, and no acknowledgment of liability by the state was on record. The court reiterated the principle that sending reminder letters does not extend the statutory limitation period for filing claims.
The court further opined that the petitioner's claim involved disputed questions of fact, which could not be conveniently adjudicated under Article 226. It referred to previous judgments, including Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited v. Dolly Das and Joshi Technologies International Inc. v. Union of India, to emphasize that writ jurisdiction requires the involvement of constitutional or statutory rights. In the absence of such rights, the remedy under Article 226 is not available for contractual disputes.
Consequently, the court dismissed the writ petition, advising the petitioner to explore alternate remedies such as a civil suit for adjudicating the disputed claims.
Bottom line:-
Writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India cannot be invoked for enforcement of contractual obligations unless there is involvement of a constitutional or statutory right. Sending reminder letters does not extend the limitation period for filing claims.
Statutory provision(s): Article 226 of the Constitution of India, Limitation Act
Janardan Singh v. State of U.P., (Allahabad)(Lucknow)(DB) : Law Finder Doc id # 2937032
