Ambuj Hotels and Real Estate Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India and Anr

1. The present writ petition was filed in December, 2019 seeking setting aside of the non-renewal letter issued by the respondent-IRCTC to the petitioner.

2. Briefly stated, the facts in the present writ petitions are as follows: i. The petitioner was awarded a contract for providing catering services in a train (‘subject train’) for a period of 5 years on payment of license fee. In this regard, a License Agreement was entered into between the petitioner and the respondent-Railways for a period of 5 years. The License Agreement (‘subject contract’) had a renewal clause subject to the satisfactory performance of the contract. ii. On 20th June, 2019, the original contract for a period of 5 years expired and the Railways issued the impugned letter on 20th December, 2019 stating that the Railways have decided not to renew the subject contract on account of petitioner not attaining the minimum guaranteed performance, making the petitioner ineligible for consideration for the said renewal.

3. Aggrieved by the same, the present writ petition was filed before this Court.

4. On 24th December, 2019, an interim order was passed in favour of the petitioner to the effect that the petitioner shall continue to perform/ provide catering services in the subject train in terms of the contract between the parties.

5. On 22nd December, 2024, an affidavit was filed on behalf of IRCTC stating as to the date on which the subject contract, if renewed, would have expired.

6. On 2nd February, 2026, an application was filed on behalf of IRCTC seeking vacation of the interim order passed by this Court on 24th December,

2019.

7. On 3rd February, 2026, Counsel for the respondent-IRCTC handed over a chart in Court, in terms of which, the renewed period of the contract of the petitioners in the subject train was expiring on 1st March, 2026.

8. On 3rd February, 2026, this Court passed a direction that the interim order shall cease to apply in respect of the trains where the renewed period is also over.

9. Further, IRCTC was directed to issue a communication to the petitioner detailing the amounts due on the assumption that there has been a renewal in terms of the contract.

10. In light of the aforesaid developments, the only surviving issue in the present petitions is with regard to recovery of the license fee due and payable to the respondent-IRCTC for the period during which the petitioner continue to operate the contract on account of the interim order dated 24th December, 2019 passed by this Court in the present writ petition.

11. A similar batch of petitions being W.P.(C) 13919/2019 titled as Sunshine Caterers Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India & Ors and other connected matters have been disposed of vide order dated 18th May, 2026.

12. The interim order passed by this Court mandated that the petitioner would continue to perform catering services in terms of the subject contract between the parties. Plainly, this would imply that the petitioner would continue to make payments in terms of the subject contract. The petitioner cannot be heard to say that they will continue to operate catering services under interim order passed by this Court without paying due amounts to the respondent-IRCTC. It is not even the case of the petitioner that they are not liable to pay contractual dues for the aforesaid period. The contention of the petitioner is that amounts have been paid to the IRCTC.

13. In view of the aforesaid, the present writ petition is disposed of while holding that the respondents would be entitled to recovery of outstanding dues from the petitioner as per the terms of the contract for the period petitioner continued to operate in terms of interim order dated 24th December, 2019 passed by this Court.

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