Kochi: Kerala High Court on Friday asked the state government not to blacklist SNC-Lavalin company, against whom the state has issued a show-cause notice, without getting further orders from the court.
The court, however, observed that the government was free to take a final decision (blacklisting) after addressing the objections raised by SNC-Lavalin and hearing it.
Justice Muhammed Mustauque issued the order on a petition filed by Dan Singh Karki, authorised representative of the company, West Montreal, Quebec, Canada, seeking to quash the show-cause notice issued by the state government on September 28, 2015.
According to the petitioner, the state government forwarded some documents but neither did it identify the specific contract nor any specific clause regarding the breach of contract.
The government made some references in the notice that the company had promised financial assistance of Rs 98.3 crore for the Malabar Cancer Centre project, but it was not even clear if the reference was to the MoU or some other purported contract.
The court directed the state government to furnish all documents sought by the company within four weeks. If the documents were not available with the government, it should inform the reason for not furnishing them.
The court also asked the company to file its reply to the notice within four weeks.
The court said that that in the wake of the violation of contractual obligations and the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India as well as the final report filed by the CBI, the state government had decided to black list the company.
Hence, the government asked it to show cause why it should not be blacklisted from entering into any contract in future. The government had also asked the company to file the reply within 15 days.
The petitioner argued that the notice had been issued in a pre-meditated manner which is contrary to the principles of natural justice.
The notice had been given without providing it with documents on which the state relies. The notice is vague and devoid of any specific allegations.
According to the company, the memorandum of understanding for the modernisation of Panniyar, Sengulam and Pallivasal hydroelectric projects was entered into by the petitioner in public interest with intent to assist the state in its welfare activities and was not part of the business activities of the company.
