Mr. Jitender Mehta, Mr. Lalit Kumar, Mr. Abhinav Kumar and Mr. Mohit Garg v. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited & Ors.

1. The present writ petition has been filed on behalf of the petitioner seeking directions to the respondents to extend the benefit of license period of seven months to the petitioner in parity with the extension as granted to the static units by this Court by various orders.

2. Learned Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioner draws the attention of this Court to the letter dated 10th December, 2021 issued by respondent no. 1, to submit that the petitioner was granted a revised balanced tenure of the contract for provision of on-board catering services in Train No. 12009-12010 MMCT-ADI Shatabdi Express, on account of the fact that the services being rendered by the petitioner were adversely affected during Covid-19 period.

3. He, thus, submits that the petitioner does not seek as such extension of the contract, but only a limited benefit for the purposes of winding up the business and recouping the losses. Therefore, the petitioner may be granted extension of time for a period of seven months for the said purpose.

4. Per contra, learned counsel appearing for the respondents submits that the petitioner had been initially granted a contract by way of the Letter of Award dated 25th October, 2013. She submits that after expiry of the first contract, the said contract was subsequently renewed with effect from 11th December, 2018 to 10th December, 2023.

5. She submits that since the services were suspended during the Covid- 19 period, an extension has already been granted to the petitioner till 28th August, 2025, and hence there is no occasion for the respondents to grant any further extension.

6. She further submits that the petitioner cannot seek any parity with the static units, as the terms of the license given to the static units are completely different from the catering services, which are provided on a mobile train, as in the case of the petitioner.

7. Having heard learned counsel appearing for the parties, this Court notes that vide letter dated 10th December, 2021, the petitioner has already been granted a revised balanced tenure on account of Covid-19. The letter dated 10th December, 2021, reads as under:

8. Considering the submissions made before this Court, following directions are passed: i. The present writ petition shall be treated as a representation by the respondents. ii. At the time of considering the representation of the petitioner, an opportunity of hearing shall be granted to the petitioner, wherein, the petitioner shall appear through its authorized representative. iii. The representation of the petitioner shall be considered expeditiously, preferably, within a period of two weeks, from today. iv. A Speaking Order shall be passed on the representation of the petitioner, which shall be duly communicated to the petitioner. v. In case the petitioner is aggrieved by any Speaking Order passed by the respondents, the petitioner shall have liberty to seek its remedies, in accordance with law. iv. In case the representation of the petitioner is rejected, the respondents shall allow the petitioner to continue with providing the catering services in the train in question, till a new contractor takes over in terms of the tender floated by the respondents.

9. With the aforesaid directions, the present petition, along with the pending applications, stands disposed of. MINI PUSHKARNA, J AUGUST 26, 2025