APHC010319022026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3327] FRIDAY, THE 24th DAY OF JULY 2026 PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K SREENIVASA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO: 17437/2026 Between: 1. CHINDA VEERA VENKATA NAGESWARA RAJU, S/O. HANUMANTHA RAJU, AGED 64 YEARS, OCC. CONTRACTOR, R/O.KOSURU VILLAGE, MOVVA MANDAL, KRISHNA DISTRICT - 521150 ...PETITIONER A N D 1. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, REP.BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY - PANCHAYAT RAJ, SECRETARIAT, VELAGAPUDI, GUNTUR DISTRICT-522238. 2. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, REP. BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY - FINANCE DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT, VELAGAPUDI, GUNTUR DISTRICT-522238. 3. THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR, MACHILIPATNAM, KRISHNA DISTRICT-521002. 4. THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER SE, PR CIRCLE - MACHILIPATNAM, 0PP. PWD GROUNDS, VIJAYAWADA, KRISHNA DISTRICT-521001. 5. THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER EE, PANCHAYAT RAJ DEPARTMENT, PRI DIVISION, MACHILIPATNAM, KRISHNA DISTRICT-521001. 6. THE DEPUTY EXECUTIVE ENGINEER DY EE, PANCHAYAT RAJ DEPARTMENT, PRI SUB DIVISION, MACHILIPATNAM, KRISHNA DISTRICT-521001. 7. THE MANDAL PARISHAD DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, MOVVA, MOVVA MANDAL, KRISHNA DISTRICT - 521135. ...RESPONDENT(S): Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed therewith, the High SRK, J W.P.No.17437 of 2026 2 Court may be pleased to issue a Writ of Mandamus, or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, declaring the action of the respondents in not making the payments for total amount of Rs.4,69,467/- (Rs.3,82,734/- plus Rs.28,911/- plus Rs.28,911/- plus Rs.3,82,734/- ) for providing CC road from Bolla Nagaraju house to Murari Venkateswara Rao house and CC road from R and B Road to Patchigulla Bhagyalakshmi house and other internal roads in Vemulamada and CC road from R and B Road to Patchigulla Bhagyalakshmi house and other internal roads (HIW Code. PR-5032- 25675, HIW Code. PR-5032-25673 and HIW Code. PR-5032-25676 respectively) in Vemulamada village, Movva Mandal, Krishna District as illegal, arbitrary and violation of Articles 14, 21 and 300-A of the Constitution of India and further direct the respondents to clear the bill of Rs.4,69,467/- forthwith and pass IA NO: 1 OF 2026 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to grant interim direction directing the respondents to pay the bill amount of Rs.4,69,467/- (Rs.3,82,734/- + Rs.28,911/- + Rs.28,911/- + Rs.3,82,734/-) for providing CC road from Bolla Nagaraju house to Murari Venkateswara Rao house and CC road from R&B Road to Patchigulla Bhagyalakshmi house and other internal roads in Vemulamada and CC road from R&B Road to Patchigulla Bhagyalakshmi house and other internal roads (HIW Code: PR-5032-25675, HIW Code: PR-5032-25673 & HIW Code: PR- 5032-25676 respectively) in Vemulamada village, Movva Mandal, Krishna District to the petitioner forthwith, pending disposal of the above writ petition and pass Counsel for the Petitioner: 1. B V ANJANEYULU Counsel for the Respondent(S): 1. GP FOR PANCHAYAT RAJ RURAL DEV 2. GP FOR FINANCE PLANNING The Court made the following: SRK, J W.P.No.17437 of 2026 3 O R D E R Heard learned counsel for the Writ Petitioner, learned Assistant Government Pleader for the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, representing respondent Nos.1, 5 and 7, and the learned Assistant Government Pleader for the Finance, representing respondent No.2. 2. This Writ Petition is filed seeking the following relief: “….to issue an appropriate Writ, Order or direction more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus, declaring the action of the respondents in not making the payments for total amount of Rs.4,69,467/- (Rs.3,82,734/- + Rs.28,911/- + Rs.28,911/- + Rs.3,82,734/-) for providing CC road from Bolla Nagaraju house to Murari Venkateswara Rao house and CC Road from R&B Road to Patchigulla Bhagyalakshmi house and other internal roads in Vemulamada and CC Road from R&B Road to Patchigulla Bhagyalakshmi house and other internal roads (HIW Code: PR-5032-25675, HIW Code: PR-5032-25673 & HIW Code: PR-5032-25676 respectively) in Vemulamada village, Movva Mandal, Krishna District, as illegal and arbitrary, and consequently, direct the respondents to clear the bill of Rs.4,69,467/- forthwith and pass such other order or orders…” 3. The Writ Petitioner claims to be a Civil Contractor. The respondent No.4 issued Proceedings dated 06.12.2023 in Rc.No.83/GGMP/Works/Dy.So-2/2022 granting administrative sanction of Rs.20.00 lakhs per Secretariat for High impact works for providing internal roads in Movva Mandal, Krishna District and 5th SRK, J W.P.No.17437 of 2026 4 respondent is the Executing Authority. The Writ Petitioner executed the work (HIW Code: PR-5032-25675) providing the CC road from Pamarthi Sivaparvathi House to Matt Chiranjeevi House in Vemulamada village, Movva Mandal. The respondent authorities recorded the said work in M-Book bearing No.316A/22-23 and issued pass order for an amount of Rs.3,82,734/- towards first bill and Rs.28,911/- towards final bill. The respondent authorities had not made pass order for the Final Bill of Rs.28,911/-, but mentioned in the M-Book. The respondent authorities have to pay Rs.4,11,645/- to the Writ Petitioner. Further, the Writ Petitioner executed two other works i.e. providing CC road from Bolla Nagaraju house to Murari Venkateswara Rao house in Kondavaram road, Vemulamada Village, Movva Mandal (HIW Code:PR-5032-25673) and CC road from R&B road to Patchigulla Bhagyalakshmi House and other internal roads in Vemulamada Village (HIW Code: PR-5032-25676). The respondent authorities recorded the said two works in M-Book bearing No.316A/22-23 and issued final bill for a sum of Rs.28,911/- for each work and the total amount is Rs.57,822/-. (b) It is the grievance of the Writ Petitioner that though he executed the entire works within time, an amount of Rs.4,69,467/- was kept pending by the respondent authorities. Even the Writ SRK, J W.P.No.17437 of 2026 5 Petitioner approached the respondent authorities on multiple occasions, requesting for payment of aforesaid pending bill amount, they are not doing so. According to Writ Petitioner, having executed the works satisfactorily, within the prescribed time, non-payment of the bill amount was arbitrary and unjustified. It was further contended that the delay in payment is causing severe financial hardship, necessitating the filing of the present Writ Petition seeking appropriate directions for release of the outstanding amount. 4. Today when the matter is taken up for hearing, learned Assistant Government Pleader for the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, representing respondent Nos.1, 3 to 7, on written instructions received from the Executive Engineer, PRI Division, Machilipatnam-5th respondent, submits that the total value of the work done by the Writ Petitioner is Rs.14,92,323/-, and after statutory recoveries such as Income Tax, QC Recovery etc., aggregating to Rs.1,73,185/-, the Writ Petitioner is entitled to an amount of Rs.13,19,138/-. He further submits that on 31.03.2024, an amount of Rs.8,48,900/- was paid to the Writ Petitioner, and the Writ Petitioner is entitled to a balance amount of Rs.6,43,423/-, and the budget is insufficient to meet the bill amount, the Writ Petitioner was not paid SRK, J W.P.No.17437 of 2026 6 the amount. Therefore, he seeks time to process the bill through the NIDHI Portal. The written instructions are placed on record. 5. A perusal of the written instructions goes to show that there is no dispute with regard to execution of works and even as per the respondent No.5, the Writ Petitioner is entitled an amount of Rs.6,43,423/-, which is more than the claim made by the Writ Petitioner. Therefore, since the amount payable to the Writ Petitioner, is admitted and undisputed, the Writ Petition is maintainable. In M/s. Utkal Highways Engineers and Contractors v. Chief General Manager & Ors.1, it was held as under: (Paragraph No.8) “Be that as it may, the High Court has not dealt with the merits of the Writ Petition. Moreover, it is not an inviolable rule that no money claim can be adjudicated upon in exercise of Writ jurisdiction. Non-payment of admitted dues, inter alia, may be considered an arbitrary action on the part of respondents and for claiming the same, a Writ Petition may lie. Further, throwing a Writ Petition on ground of availability of alternative remedy after 10 years, particularly, when parties have exchanged their affidavits, is not the correct course unless there are disputed questions of fact which by their very nature cannot be adjudicated upon without recording formal evidence.” 1 2025 SCC OnLine SC 1400. SRK, J W.P.No.17437 of 2026 7 6. Having regard to the entire facts and circumstances of the case, the respondent authorities are directed to pay the amount as admitted by the respondent No.5 in his written instructions to a tune of Rs.6,43,423/- (Rupees Six Lakhs Forty Three Thousand Four Hundred and Twenty Three only) to the Writ Petitioner within a period of Eight (8) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. 7. Accordingly, the Writ Petition is disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs of the Writ Petition. As a sequel thereto, the miscellaneous applications, if any, pending in this Writ Petition, shall stand closed. JUSTICE K. SREENIVASA REDDY 24th July, 2026. DNB Whether the Order is: Speaking ✓ Reasoned Reportable Non-reportable ✓