Tanusri Bandyopadhyay And ORS v. Union Of India And ORS.

WP.CT. 97 of 2022 01.03.23 Ct. No. 04 Tanusri Bandyopadhyay & Ors.

Vs.

The Union of India & Ors.

-------- akd Mr. Uttiya Ray, Mr. Arnab Mandal.

... for the petitioners.

Mr. Amit Chakraborty, Ms. Sarda Sha.

... for the respondent nos. 1-7.

The Tribunal was approached by the writ petitioners challenging the advertisement dated 25th January, 2020 published by the Doordarshan Kendra, Kolkata, RNU for empanelment of part-time Stringers in the District Level.

The challenge was founded on the premise that the writ petitioners having engaged as part-time Correspondents (PTCs) on contractual retainership basis by the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) for collecting news and to report the same in All India Radio and Doordarshan, the advertisement for empanelment of the stringers by the Doordarshan Kendra, Kolkata would jeopardize the empanelment of the writ petitioners as PTCs and Stringers.

The Tribunal by the impugned order rejected the said tribunal application upholding the legality and validity of the said advertisement dated 25th January, 2020 with specific observations that the aforesaid rejection shall not preclude the respondent authorities from considering the representation of the applicants dated 12th February, 2020 and the order of rejection shall be subject to the outcome of any petition pending in the higher judicial forum.

At the time of moving the instant writ petition the prayer was made for an interim order on the score that taking advantage of rejection of the tribunal

application the authority has contemplated to proceed with the empanelment of Stringers in terms of the said advertisement dated 25th January, 2020.

Before we proceed to consider the prayer for interim order, we directed the learned Advocate for the Union of India to disclose the stand of the competent authority as to whether they had contemplated to proceed with the empanelment of the Stringers on the basis of the aforesaid advertisement.

Today, when the matter is taken up, the learned Advocate for the Union of India hands over an instruction issued by the Prasar Bharati vide no. DDK/KOL/RNU/02/2023 dated 28th February, 2023; wherein a decision has been taken that since the said advertisement was issued two years before, it is proposed to issue fresh Notification for empanelment after revising the Stingers' Guidelines. It is further indicated therein that there is Guidelines for Stringers' empanelment issued on 14th July, 2010 which is required to be adhered to.

Let the letter dated 28th February, 2023 be kept with the record.

Since the advertisement dated 25th January, 2020 is the subject matter of challenge before the Tribunal and the authorities have decided to abandoned the same and intended to proceed afresh, we do not think that there is any subsisting cause of action in the instant matter.

In view of the above findings, in our opinion, the instant writ petition has become infructuous and is, accordingly, dismissed.

(Harish Tandon, J.) (Prasenjit Biswas, J.)