Observing that “no proceeding took place” on the proposed inquiry during the past three to four months, the High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday set a deadline of 45 days for the one-man commission of inquiry to complete the probe into the allegation of “40% commission” in the contracts awarded under the previous BJP government from 2019-20 to 2022-23.
Also, the court said the commission would have to consider all the documents that would be placed by all the stakeholders before it, provide an opportunity for hearing to all the stakeholders, and formulate its report within an outer limit of 45 days.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the interim order while modifying the order of December 7, by which the court had stayed further proceeding before the commission till the government explained why the inquiry was not completed within one month as was proposed.
The court also directed the government to submit the commission’s report to the court by February 6, 2024.
Order of ‘seniority’
If the inquiry is used as a reason to get over the payment to be made to the contractors who have already executed the works, then the court will have to interfere, but if the real spirit is to conduct a probe on allegations within a reasonable time then the court will not come in the way, Justice Nagaprasamma orally made it clear to State Advocate-General Shashi Kiran Shetty.
Following this, the A-G said the government was making payments to the contractors in the order of “seniority”; 50% of the amount due was being paid where there were some allegations of irregularities in works, and 75% of the amount was being paid on seniority in other cases as per terms of recent government orders.
Reasonable time
Also, the A-G said the commission would complete the inquiry if some reasonable time was granted and also requested one of the petitioner-contractors, Nikshep Infra Ltd., not to precipitate the matter in a contempt of court petition for not making payment despite direction issued by the court in another petition earlier as the government had now made partial payment.
As the 44 petitioners, who have knocked on the doors of the court, agreed to wait for the outcome of the inquiry report by accepting the partial payments to be made by the government, the court adjourned further hearing on their petition till February 6.
The main grievance of the petitioner-contractors was about non-payment of thousands of crores due to them despite the grant of completion certificate several months ago and further delay caused due to the inquiry ordered following the change in the government after the newly elected political executives took over the administration.
‘What kind of State government do we have?’
“What kind of State government do we have?” A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice Krishna S. Dixit made this oral observation on the conduct of the government in deducting tax at source on the entire amount due to the contractors even though the government is paying only 50% to 75% of the total amount due to some of them.
“Which contractor will come forward to execute the government’s works ... They [contractors] will start quoting four times to the government’s works in future ...,” the Bench observed while adjourning the hearing on the contempt petition till the second week of February as the petitioner-contract had given an undertaking before the single judge.
