2025:JHHC:20189 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI W.P. (C) No. 1316 of 2025 Santosh Kumar, son of Late Dwarika Saw, resident of village- Murhu Basti, P.O. & P.S.- Murhu, District- Khunti … … Petitioner Versus 1. Union of India through Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi 2. The Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi 3. The State of Jharkhand through the Chief Secretary, Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi 4. The Principal Secretary, Department of Home, Jail & Disaster Management, Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi 5. The Deputy Commissioner, Khunti 6. The Additional Collector, Khunti 7. The District Nazarat Deputy Collector, Khunti 8. The Block Development Officer, Murhu, District- Khunti …. … Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH SHANKAR For the Petitioner : Mr. Gaurav, Advocate For the Resp. Nos. 1 & 2 : Mr. Anil Kumar, A.S.G.I. Mr. Abhijeet Kumar Singh, C.G.C. For the Resp. Nos. 3 to 8: Mr. Shubham Gautam, AC to AAG-V Order No. 06 Dated: 23.07.2025 The present writ petition has been filed for issuance of direction upon the concerned respondents to make payment of balance amount of bills to the petitioner for the period from 28.03.2020 to 16.10.2020, as according to him, he had supplied food, clothes, medicines etc. to different quarantine centers of Block-Murhu, District- Khunti during Covid-19 pandemic period. 2. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the Deputy Commissioner, Khunti (the respondent no.5), vide letter dated 25.03.2020, directed the Executive Officer, Nagar Panchayat, Khunti as well as all the Block Development Officers of different Blocks within Khunti district to ensure availability of food etc. to the villagers during the Covid-19 pandemic period for which 2 amount was also made available to all the Block Development Officers of Khunti district. Thereafter, the Block Development Officer, Murhu (the respondent no. 8) directed the petitioner to supply food, water, clothes and medical facilities to various quarantine centers i.e., Laxmi Narayan High School, Murhu, Hostel of Laxmi Narayan High School and Kasturba Gandhi Residential Girls School, Murhu. 3. The petitioner accordingly provided the aforesaid articles and medical facilities to the said quarantine centers and thereafter raised the bills, copies of which have been annexed as Annexure-7 series to the writ petition. The petitioner has already been paid Rs.4,03,898/- on 17.05.2022 and Rs.1,98,883/- on 08.06.2022 by the respondent no. 8, however, an amount of Rs.11,69,857/- (two separate bills of Rs.11,50,477/- and Rs. 19,380/-) is still to be paid to him. The petitioner represented the respondent no. 5 seeking payment of balance amount of bills, however the same remained unresponded which compelled him to prefer the present writ petition. 4. Mr. Shubham Gautam, learned A.C. to A.A.G.-V appearing on behalf of the respondent nos. 3 to 8, submits that since the aforesaid claim of the petitioner is factual in nature, the same is required to be examined by the competent authority. Hence, if the petitioner prefers a fresh representation along with documents with respect to the supply made by him before the 3 respondent no. 5, an appropriate decision will be taken by the said respondent within a time frame. 5. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and considering the nature of prayer made by the petitioner in the present writ petition, without entering into the merit of the case, the petitioner is given liberty to prefer a fresh representation along with relevant papers in support of his claim before the respondent no. 5. On receipt of the said representation, the respondent no. 5, after providing an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner and on verifying the relevant records, shall take an appropriate informed decision within a period of eight (08) weeks from the date of filing of the said representation. 6. The writ petition is accordingly disposed of with aforesaid liberty and direction. (Rajesh Shankar, J.) Ritesh/