Excise Policy: HC sends plea challenging govt's e-tender to another bench

New Delhi: A Delhi High Court bench Monday directed to place before the Chief Justice a petition challenging e-tender notice of the Delhi government, prescribing the procedure to be followed for inviting zone wise electronic bids for grant of 32 licences of retail vends of liquor here.

The court sent the matter to the bench headed by Chief Justice after a controversy arose as to which bench should hear the plea since several similar petitions relating to the new Excise Policy are pending before the Chief Justice's bench.

While the counsel for the petitioner submitted that this petition is only challenging the tender issued by the Delhi government and as a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh is having the roster to hear tender matters, it should hear it, Delhi government's counsel vehemently objected it saying this is also relating to the excise policy and shall be heard by the Chief Justice's

bench.

The bench said since this controversy is arising and the Chief Justice being the master of roster' he shall decide which bench to hear the petition.

The bench also said it was not having any particular interest in hearing this matter.

To resolve this controversy, we direct to place this matter before Division Bench-I headed by the Chief Justice, since DB-I is seized of other matters We leave it to the bench headed by the Chief Justice to decide which bench should hear the present petition, the bench of Justices Sanghi and Singh said while sending the plea before the bench headed by the Chief Justice for Tuesday.

The bench added, in the last hearing also we had said this is purely a tender matter and we have this tender roster. If we find it is overlapping with the policy challenge, we will send it to Division Bench-I.