IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.16000 of 2025 ====================================================== Md. Makbul Alam, Male aged about 41 years, S/o Late Mehruddin, R/o Ward No. 12, Ruidhasa, P.O.-Ruidhasa Chhaital, Pin Code-855116, P.S.- Thakurganj, District-Kishanganj. ... ... Petitioner/s Versus 1. The State of Bihar Through The Secretary, Rural Works Department, Govt. of Bihar, Vishwaswraiya Bhawan, Baily Road, Patna. 2. The Secretary, Road Construction Department, Govt. of Bihar, Vishwaswraiya Bhawan, Baily Road, Patna. 3. Engineer in Chief cum Additional Commissioner cum Special Secretary, Rural Works Department, Govt. of Bihar, Vishwaswraiya Bhawan, Baily Road, Patna. 4. Engineer in Chief cum Additional Commissioner cum Special Secretary, Road Construction Department, Govt. of Bihar, Vishwaswraiya Bhawan, Baily Road, Patna. 5. The Engineer in Chief, Rural Works Department, Govt. of Bihar, Vishwaswraiya Bhawan, Baily Road, Patna. 6. The Chief Engineer-4, Purnea Region, Rural Works Department, Govt. of Bihar. 7. The Superintending Engineer, Rural Works Department, Govt. of Bihar, Work Circle-Kishanganj, District-Kishanganj, Govt. of Bihar. 8. The Superintending Engineer, Rural Works Department, Govt. of Bihar, Work Circle-Purnea, District-Purnea, Govt. of Bihar. 9. The Executive Engineer, Rural Works Department, Works Division - Kishanganj-1, District-Kishanganj, Govt. of Bihar. 10. The Executive Engineer, Rural Works Department, Works Division-Baisi, District-Purnea, Govt. of Bihar. ... ... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Ravi Kumar, Advocate Ms. Mitali, Advocate For the Respondent/s : Advocate General ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ALOK KUMAR SINHA ORAL JUDGMENT (Per: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE) Date : 09-10-2025 Patna High Court CWJC No.16000 of 2025 dt.09-10-2025 2/9 In the instant writ petition, petitioner has prayed for the following relief(s): i) To issue a appropriate writ / order direction in the Nature of Mandamus to set aside the Letter No. 02-15/25, 2297 dated 23.08.2025 issued by the Office of the Chief Engineer -4 Purnea Region (respondent no.6). Rural Works Departmentr, Govt. of Bihar, whereby, all the Superintending Engineers of all work Circles and all the Executive Engineers of all the work Divisions of Purnea region has been directed that all the works alloted to the petitioner be deemed ineffective and pursuant to that no agrement be done with the petitioner and also all the payments be kept on hold with immidiate effect under their respective jurisdiction. (ii). To issue an appropriate writ / order direction in the Nature of Mandamus to set aside the Letter No. 4515-01-966/2025, 3082 dated 27.08.2025 read with Memo No. 4515-01- 966/2025, 3082 dated 27.08.2025 issued by the Engineer - in - Chief-Cum- Additional Commissioner Cum Special Secretary (respondent no.3), Rural Works Departmentr, Govt. of Bihar, whereby Executive Engineer, Work Division Baisi, Rural Works Department Govt. of Bihar has been directed to Foreclose the Agreement No. 05/CMD/RRSMP/2025-26 dated05.07.2025 done with the petitioner after taking the final measurement of the part of the work which has Patna High Court CWJC No.16000 of 2025 dt.09-10-2025 3/9 allready been completed so that fresh tender be issued to complete the rest of the Work. (iii) To issue an appropriate writ / order direction in the Nature of Mandamus to set aside the Letter No. 2435 dated 27.08.2025 issued by the Office of the Executive Engineer Work Division- Kishanganj - 1 pursuant to the Letter No. 15/25, 2297 dated 23.08.2025 issued by the Office of the Chief Engineer - 4 Purnea Region (respondent no.6), whereby Letters of Acceptance bearing Letter No. 2406 dated 21.08.2025 and Letter No. 2407 dated 21.08.2025 has been suspended/adjourened with immediate effect from the date of issuence of the letter. (iv) To issue an appropriate writ / order direction in the Nature of Mandamus to set aside the Letter No. 2047 dated 29.08.2025 issued by the Office of the Executive Engineer Work Division- Kishanganj - 1 pursuant to the Letter No. 4515-01-966/2025, 3082 dated 27.08.2025 and Letter No.15/25, 2297 dated 23.08.2025 issued by the Office of the Chief Engineer 4 Purnea Region (respondent no.6), whereby the work alloted to the petitioner through Agreement 05.07.2025 No. 05/CMD/RRSMP/2025-26 dated has been suspended/adjourened with immediate effect from the date of issuence of the letter. (v) To issue a appropriate writ / order direction in the Nature of Mandamus and give direction to the respondent no.2 and the respondent no.4 to bring on record the order by which it has been communicated to them that the Patna High Court CWJC No.16000 of 2025 dt.09-10-2025 4/9 reasoned order dated 29.03.2024 read with Memo No. 1583 dated 30.03.2024 has been set aside and cosequently petitioner has removed from the blacklisting, which was passed by the Engineer - in - Chief-Cum- Additional Commissioner - Cum - Special Secretary (respondent no.3), Rural Works Departmentr, Govt. of Bihar, whereby the petitioner has been Blacklisted on frivolous ground from the Rural Works Department. (vi) To issue a appropriate writ/order/direction in the Nature of Mandamus to restrain the respondents from proceeding further during the pendency of the present writ application. (vii) To issue a appropriate writ / order direction in the Nature of Mandamus and give direction to the concerned authorities that the petitioner be allowed to complete the work in under the Agreement progress No. 05/CMD/RRSMP/2025-26 dated 05.07.2025 as the petitioner has completed more than 30% of the work so that petitioner be saved from the huge economic loss and which also in the favour of public interest. (viii) To issue a appropriate writ / order direction in the Nature of Mandamus and give direction to the concerned authorities to complete the Agreement process in connection with those tenders tendersin which Letter of Accepance has been suspended. (ix) To issue a appropriate writ / order direction in the Nature of Mandamus and give Patna High Court CWJC No.16000 of 2025 dt.09-10-2025 5/9 direction to the concerned authorities that the petitioner be allowed to partcipate tender process in which he has submitted his bid documents whose bid Bid acknowledgement is annexed with this writ application. (x) To hold and declare that the action of the respondent autorities is violative of Article 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution of India. (xi) To hold and declare that the Impugned letters mentioned arbitrary, perverse and passed on frivolous above are ground with malafide intention. (xii) To hold and declare that the Impugned letters mentioned above are arbitrary, perverse and passed without giving reasonable opportunity to the petitioner. (xiii) To hold and declare that the Impugned letters mentioned above are arbitrary, perverse and passed in voilation of principle of Natural Justice. (xiv) To any other relief/ reliefs for which the petititoner is found to be entitled in the fact and circumstances of the case.” 3. Perusal of the blacklisting order dated 27.08.2025, it is crystal clear that it is not a speaking or reasoned order so as to affirm. Respondents are exercising quasi judicial function insofar as blacklisting Contractors. In such an event, they are bound to follow the certain principles laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in paragraph-40 in the case of ORYX Fisheries Private Patna High Court CWJC No.16000 of 2025 dt.09-10-2025 6/9 Limited Versus Union of India and Others, reported in (2010) 13 Supreme Court Cases 427. Paragraph-40 reads as under: “40. In Kranti Associates [(2010) 9 SCC 496 : (2010) 3 SCC (Civ) 852] this Court after considering various judgments formulated certain principles in SCC para 47 of the judgment which are set out below : (SCC pp. 510-12) “(a) In India the judicial trend has always been to record reasons, even in administrative decisions, if such decisions affect anyone prejudicially. (b) A quasi-judicial authority must record reasons in support of its conclusions. (c) Insistence on recording of reasons is meant to serve the wider principle of justice that justice must not only be done it must also appear to be done as well. (d) Recording of reasons also operates as a valid restraint on any possible arbitrary exercise of judicial and quasi-judicial or even administrative power. (e) Reasons reassure that discretion has been exercised by the decision-maker on relevant grounds and by disregarding extraneous considerations. (f) Reasons have virtually become as indispensable a component of a decision-making process as observing principles of natural justice Patna High Court CWJC No.16000 of 2025 dt.09-10-2025 7/9 by judicial, quasi-judicial and even by administrative bodies. (g) Reasons facilitate the process of judicial review by superior courts. (h) The ongoing judicial trend in all countries committed to rule of law and constitutional governance is in favour of reasoned decisions based on relevant facts. This is virtually the lifeblood of judicial decision-making justifying the principle that reason is the soul of justice. (i) Judicial or even quasi-judicial opinions these days can be as different as the judges and authorities who deliver them. All these decisions serve one common purpose which is to demonstrate by reason that the relevant factors have been objectively considered. This is important for sustaining the litigants' faith in the justice delivery system. (j) Insistence on reason is a requirement for both judicial accountability and transparency. (k) If a judge or a quasi-judicial authority is not candid enough about his/her decision-making process then it is impossible to know whether the person deciding is faithful to the doctrine of precedent or to principles of incrementalism. (l) Reasons in support of decisions must be cogent, clear and succinct. A pretence of reasons or Patna High Court CWJC No.16000 of 2025 dt.09-10-2025 8/9 ‘rubber-stamp reasons’ is not to be equated with a valid decision-making process. (m) It cannot be doubted that transparency is the sine qua non of restraint on abuse of judicial powers. Transparency in decision-making not only makes the judges and decision-makers less prone to errors but also makes them subject to broader scrutiny. (See David Shapiro in Defence of Judicial Candor(1987) 100 Harv. L. Rev. 731-37.) (n) Since the requirement to record reasons emanates from the broad doctrine of fairness in decision-making, the said requirement is now virtually a component of human rights and was considered part of Strasbourg Jurisprudence. See Ruiz Torija v. Spain [(1994) 19 EHRR 553] , EHRR at p. 562, para 29 and Anya v. University of Oxford [2001 EWCA Civ 405 : 2001 ICR 847 (CA)] , wherein the Court referred to Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights which requires, ‘adequate and intelligent reasons must be given for judicial decisions’. (o) In all common law jurisdictions judgments play a vital role in setting up precedents for the future. Therefore, for development of law, requirement of giving reasons for the decision is of the essence and is virtually a part of ‘due process’.” In the light of the aforementioned principles, the respondents have not adhered to the principles while ordering Patna High Court CWJC No.16000 of 2025 dt.09-10-2025 9/9 blacklisting. Accordingly, the petitioner has made out a case so as to interfere with the orders dated 23.08.2025 (Letter No. 02- 15/25, 2297), 27.08.2025 (Letter No. 4515-01-966/2025, 3028) and dated 27.08.2025 (Memo No. 4515-01-966/2025, 3082), order dated 27.08.2025 (Letter No. 2435) and order dated 29.08.2025 (Letter No. 2047), hence, they are set aside. 4. The matter is remanded to the concerned authority to pass a fresh order, after providing opportunity of hearing to the petitioner and to proceed to pass a reasoned and speaking order. The concerned authority is hereby directed to take note of the principles laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the aforementioned decision and pass orders within three months from today. GAURAV S./- (P. B. Bajanthri, CJ) (Alok Kumar Sinha, J) AFR/NAFR CAV DATE Uploading Date 14.10.2025 Transmission Date