Pending bill payments: Don’t drive contractors to suicide, Karnataka HC tells govt
Bengaluru, Nov 29: Hearing a contempt of court petition on pending bills not being paid, the High Court of Karnataka observed that, according to the government’s own records, two contractors have committed suicide and this cannot go on.
“Your records say, it is on record, that two of the contractors have committed suicide. It is on record; your record. Look into that. Don’t drive the contractors to the corner,” the HC said.
The division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit were hearing a contempt petition filed by M/s Nikshep Infra Projects against the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for not following an earlier order of the court to release payment for pending bills on works executed by the company.
In an earlier hearing, the BBMP had submitted that it was disbursing the due amount to various contractors as per "seniority" of the bills submitted.
The HC, citing its earlier interim order of October 30, 2023, said, “We are unable to understand this concept of BBMP for payment of bills," referring to the inordinate delay in payments for completed works.
The court further said, "In any welfare state, this cannot be a concept when there is no dispute with regard to the fact that a public body floated tender for certain work, successful bidder completes the work by following all the conditions of the work order and public body also admits that the work is duly completed but, still the successful bidder or the contractor is required to wait for the amount due and payable to him for an unreasonable time or has to run from pillar to post for his payment and ultimately.” The HC on Wednesday noted that there was no dispute about the contract.
"He was a successful bidder, completed the work and there was nothing on record to say that he had left the work midway and you had to call for another agency to complete the work. There is nothing of that sort. The case is very simple. After completing the work and considerable time, he approaches this court. You can’t say he has to wait," the court said.
“Is it your case that you don’t have money? Please answer. Why seniority?" the court questioned the BBMP counsel.
When the counsel cited some instances of fake bills, the HC said it was not because of the contractors.
"If you are really starting a clean-up operation, start it from your house. Let us know if any action is initiated against your officers. We have made it clear in our order and expected that some wisdom will prevail over the authority," the HC said.
When the BBMP counsel said that guidelines are being framed, the HC said this was its direction and cited its earlier order which said, “We expect and hope that the public bodies or the state undertakings or corporation body of the state henceforth consider the concern expressed by this court and try to avoid such situation, by issuing appropriate directions or framing guidelines." The hearing of the contempt petition was adjourned to December 13. Urban Development Department Secretary Ajay Nagabhushan MN, BBMP Commissioner Tushar Girinath, BBMP Chief Accounts Officer Vani, Malleshwaram Executive Engineer Jayashankar, and the State are the respondents in the petition.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
