- (1.) This writ petition is being disposed of on the preliminary objection raised on behalf of the official respondent Nos. 1 to 4 at the stage of notice of motion hearing.
(2.) The petitioner M/s. Eider Telecom Limited, Chandigarh, tendered Proposals for grant of Franchise Licence for providing Radio Paging Services and in the process of short listing was debarred from submitting actual tender. The Department of Telecommunication, New-Delhi, invited tender proposals for the grant of franchise licences for providing radio paging services for 27 selected cities in India vide copy of press publication- Annexure PA. Proposals were invited from Indian Companies. Due date of opening the proposal was July 31, 1992. Copy of the tender documents is Annexure P. 2. the, petitioner-Company was to collaborate with the foreign company. Full details of the terms and conditions of the tender are/not required to be given. Suffice it to say that everything with the grant of, the, tender was to be done at Delhi except that Chandigarh was one of the 27 towns for which radio paging service was required to be provided. Annexure P.1 shows that Department of Telecommunications, 20 Ashoka Road, New Delhi was the office of issue. The forms for submiting tenders were available from Section Officer (MMC), Room No. 1222, Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi the last date for receipt of the tenders was July 31, 1992 on which date the tenders were to be opened. The entire liftination and forms for submitting the tenders were to be obtained from Delhi. Similar information is contained in Annexure P.2 tendered document. The sealed covers of the tendered proposals were note required to be deposited with the Section Officer, Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi by 10.30 a.m., on July 31, 1992. This dead line could be extended. The opening of the bid was to take place at 11'.00 am. on July 31, 1992. The representatives of the bidders were required to sign the attendance register. Since after evaluation the petitioner was not in the successful bidders list after the short-listing that he has challenged the action in this writ petition. In the written statement filed by Union of India and others it has been asserted that the notice issuing tenders was issued by the Department of Telecommunications at New Delhi. The intending bidders were to submit their tender documents with earnest money at New Delhi. The evaluation and discussion for the opening of the tenders was to be done at New Delhi and thus the dispute raised in the writ petition was clearly beyond the territorial jurisdiction of this High Court. According to the petitioner the tender was submitted with its. corporate address of Delhi. M/s. Eider Electronics India Limited has already filed Civil Writ Petition No. 3794 of 1992 in the Delhi High Court which is pending. The parallel proceedings in this High Court cannot be started by the petitioner. Other pleas were also raised that no legal rights of the petitioner have been violated and on merits the petition was liable to be dismissed.
(3.) Article 225 of the Constitution preserved the powers of the High Court existing prior to the enforcement of the Constitution. Article 226 of the Constitution provides for power of the High Court to issue certain writs. Article 226(1) and (2) read as under: "226. (1) Notwithstanding anything in Article 32, every High Court shall have power throughout the territories in relation to which it exercises jurisdiction, to issue to any person or authority, including in appropriate cases any Government, within those territories directions, orders or writs, including writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition quo warranto and certiorari, or any of them, for the enforcement of any of the rights conferred by Part III and for any other purpose. (2) The power conferred by clause (1) to issue directions, orders or writs to any Government, authority or person may also be exercised by any High Court exercising jurisdiction in relation to the territories within which the cause of action, wholly or in part, arises for the exercise of such power, notwithstanding that the seat of such Government or authority or the residence of such person is not within those territories., Clause (2) of Article 226 of the constitution, as reproduced above was inserted in the Constitution by 15th Amendment Act, 1963 and was re-numbered as Clause No. (2) by the Constitution 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 by inserting sub-clause (2) on the above scope of the powers of the High Court in the matter of issuing writs and directions was extended if cause of action wholly or in part had arisen within the territorial jurisdiction of the High Court. On behalf of the petitioners it has been strongly argued Shri Jagan Nath Kaushal, Sr. Advocate than since part of the cause of action has arisen within the territorial jurisdiction of this High Court as the contract was to be performed in Chandigarh by providing Radio Paging Service in this town, this High Court has jurisdiction to entertain the writ petition, more-so when office of the petitioner-Company is also situated in, Chandigarh. On behalf of the respondents it has been argued that by mere residence or situation of the office of the petitioner Company in Chandigarh jurisdiction of this High Court cannot be extended to the dispute as everything was to be done with respect to the grant of tenders at New Delhi. Reference has been made to the judicial pronouncements on the subject by the learned counsel for the parties. While referring to the scope of Article 226 (2) of the Constitution in the matter of Bharat Sugar Mills Ltd, and another, 1984 AIR(Cal) 102 it was observed that: "Even if the person or authority against whom the writ is asked for does not reside within the territorial jurisdiction of the High Court still then the High Court can issue Writs or Directions provided the cause of action either wholly or partly arises within the territorial jurisdiction of this Court. Cause of action, it is well settled, refers to the bundle of facts which requires to be proved in order to succeed in the claim that has been made in the writ application.";