1 IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION APPELLATE SIDE Present: The Hon’ble Justice Debangsu Basak And The Hon’ble Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi M.A.T. 1797 of 2024 The Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation & Ors. vs. Sky Limits Construction represented By Its Sole Proprietor Namely Gautam Ghosh & Anr. For the Appellants : Mr. Sirsanya Bandyopadhyay, Mr. Arka Kumar Nag Mr. Tirthankar Dey For the Writ petitioner/respondent : Ms. Sanghamitra Nandy Heard and Judgment on : February 13, 2025 DEBANGSU BASAK, J.:- 1. Appeal is at the instance of Bidhaannagar Municipal Corporation and directed against an order dated June 12, 2024 passed in W.P.A. 10314 of 2022. 2. Learned advocate appearing for the appellants submits that, the writ petitioner was awarded a tender which the writ petitioners did not 2 complete. He submits that, even going by the completion certificate issued by his client, writ petitioners completed only 74.91 per cent of the work entrusted. Since the writ petitioners failed to execute entirety of the contract, they suffered loss and damages. 3. Learned advocate appearing for the appellants seeks leave of the Court to file a supplementary affidavit putting on record the counterclaim of his client in respect of the tender process. He submits that, a sum of Rs.54,44,000/- is counterclaim apart from any interest of other damages suffered by his client. 4. Learned advocate appearing for the appellants relies upon (1994) Supp. (2) SCC 466 (Eastern Coalfields Limited vs. Ravi Udyog & Ors.) and submits that, since there is counterclaim of his client, the Court exercising writ jurisdiction should not direct payment of a portion of the claim and relegate the parties to a suit for the balance portion of the bill of the counterclaim. 5. Learned advocate appearing for the appellants submits that, in any event, there are disputed question of facts involved, his client should be allowed to adduce evidence with regard to the claim lodged against his client. The writ Court is not ideal forum to adjudicate the disputes between the parties, according to him. 3 6. Learned appearing for the writ petitioners submits that, her client was granted a contract in terms of a tender floated by the appellants. She refers to the award of the tender, the running account bill submitted by her client as also the noting therein. She also refers to the completion certificate dated April 4, 2024. She submits that, there is no dispute as to the claim of her client. The stand taken by the appellants is moonshine. 7. Supplementary affidavit filed in Court be taken on record. 8. Writ petitioners participated in the tender floated by the appellants. In terms of such tender process, a work order was issued to the writ petitioners by the appellants. The work order was for renovation and upgradation of bituminous road and concrete road and drain in different location of Naya Mahisbathan Polenite area within Ward No. 28 under Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation. 9. Writ petitioners submitted their bill with the appellants. Such bill was certified by the relevant authorities on February 12, 2024. The certificate appearing in such bill as follows:- “This is to certified that the work has been carried our maintening all the specification in terms of contract & direction of E.I.C”. 10. Ignoring the typographical errors appearing in such certificate, the appropriate authorities contemporaneously certified that the writ 4 petitioners carried out to the work in terms of the work order valued at Rs.1,62,15,311/-. Thereafter, the appellants also issued a certificate dated April 1, 2024 where the final bill amount of Rs.1,62,15,311/- was acknowledged. The certificate also acknowledges that the bill of the writ petitioners was for 74.91% work in terms of the work order. 11. In the pleadings filed before the learned Single Judge, there was no averment on the part of the appellants before us quantifying the loss and damages for the heads on which such alleged loss and damages were suffered by the appellants. It is in the appeal that by way of supplementary affidavit, the so-called loss and damages are sought to be introduced and quantified. Taking the loss and damages allegedly suffered by the appellants at the highest, the claim is for a sum of Rs.54,40,000/-. 12. Therefore, deducting such sum from the bill, amount of Rs.1,62,15,311/-, a sum of Rs.1,07,75,311/- remains due and payable by the appellants to the writ petitioners in respect of which the appellants are not in a position to advance any defence. 13. In Ravi Udyog & Anr. (supra), in the facts and circumstances of that case, the entirety of the money claim lodged by the writ petitioners by way of writ petition was contested by way of counterclaim. In such facts and circumstances, the Supreme Court observed that the High 5 Court should not follow two separate courses of action, such as relegating a party to the remedy of suit insofar as his counterclaim was concerned and ordering payment insofar as the admissions went. 14. In the facts and circumstances of the present case, out of the sum of Rs.1,62,15,3,11/-, at the highest a sum of Rs.54,40,000/- can be deducted on account of the so-called counterclaim. Therefore, the sum of Rs.1,07,75,311/- remains due and payable by the appellants to the writ petitioners uncontested. 15. Learned Single Judge by the impugned order directed the authorities to pay such portion of the claim of the writ petitioners as is admitted by the appellants. 16. In the facts and circumstances of the present case, the appellants could advance a plea of counterclaim, albeit specious, to our mind, for a sum of Rs.54,40,000/-. 17. Therefore, in our view, interest of justice would be sub-served by modifying the impugned order and directing the appellants before us to pay the sum of Rs.1,07,75,311/- to the appellants within a fortnight from date. 18. Balance claims of the parties are relegated to be adjudicated before the appropriate forum. 6 19. M.A.T. 1797 of 2024 and the connected application, if any, are disposed of without any order as to costs. (Debangsu Basak, J.) 20. I agree. (Md. Shabbar Rashidi, J.) S.D.