NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to pay Rs five lakh each to seven Haj tour operators as reimbursement for disqualifying them in 2016 for non-compliance of the clauses for which they were exempted.
A bench comprising justices J Chelameswar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul termed the motion of Ministry of External Affairs as "mindless action" and said that the arbitrariness and illegality of the authority was once writ massive.
"The petitioners (tour operators) have been deprived of their right to secure the quota on a patently wrongful order passed for reasons, which did not apply to them and for conditions, which had been specifically exempted."
"What could be a greater arbitrariness and illegality? Where there is such patent arbitrariness and illegality, there is consequent violation of the principles enshrined under Article 14 of the Constitution," the bench said.
According to the tour operators, they were in 2013 exempted for 5 years from filing proof of fee in opposition to purchase of tickets, hiring of lodging for pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah in Saudi Arabia.
Some of the non-public tour operators (PTOs) were additionally given rest in terms and condition by now not furnishing copies in their registration certificates and contract for hiring of constructions for pilgrims, it said, adding that the ministry, on the other hand, disqualified them for now not furnishing those paperwork for which they were exempted.
The bench, in its order, said, "The mindless action of the respondents (Centre) in rejecting the eligibility of the petitioners for the year 2016 on the very grounds on which they were exempted, necessitates that the petitioners should be entitled to damages in public law so that they are compensated, at least, to some extent for not having been able to carry on with their business on account of illegal action of the respondents."
The court noted that the communication despatched by the Centre presentations that the reason cited for disqualification was once non-compliance of the very clauses of which exemption were granted to the operators.
The bench rejected the Centre's plea that the reasons were wrongly communicated in the rejection letter and that there was once any other causes for the denial.
A bench comprising justices J Chelameswar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul termed the motion of Ministry of External Affairs as "mindless action" and said that the arbitrariness and illegality of the authority was once writ massive.
"The petitioners (tour operators) have been deprived of their right to secure the quota on a patently wrongful order passed for reasons, which did not apply to them and for conditions, which had been specifically exempted."
"What could be a greater arbitrariness and illegality? Where there is such patent arbitrariness and illegality, there is consequent violation of the principles enshrined under Article 14 of the Constitution," the bench said.
According to the tour operators, they were in 2013 exempted for 5 years from filing proof of fee in opposition to purchase of tickets, hiring of lodging for pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah in Saudi Arabia.
Some of the non-public tour operators (PTOs) were additionally given rest in terms and condition by now not furnishing copies in their registration certificates and contract for hiring of constructions for pilgrims, it said, adding that the ministry, on the other hand, disqualified them for now not furnishing those paperwork for which they were exempted.
The bench, in its order, said, "The mindless action of the respondents (Centre) in rejecting the eligibility of the petitioners for the year 2016 on the very grounds on which they were exempted, necessitates that the petitioners should be entitled to damages in public law so that they are compensated, at least, to some extent for not having been able to carry on with their business on account of illegal action of the respondents."
The court noted that the communication despatched by the Centre presentations that the reason cited for disqualification was once non-compliance of the very clauses of which exemption were granted to the operators.
The bench rejected the Centre's plea that the reasons were wrongly communicated in the rejection letter and that there was once any other causes for the denial.
Compensate Haj operators for wrongly disqualifying them: Supreme Court to government
![Compensate Haj operators for wrongly disqualifying them: Supreme Court to government]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
May 08, 2018
Rating:
