Patna High Court's Division Bench sets aside order by Appellate Authority, Road Construction Department

In Sai Engicon and Constructions Pvt. Ltd. vs. The State of Bihar through Addl. Chief Secretary, Road Construction Department, Government of Bihar & Ors.(2025), Patna High Court's Division Bench of Chief Justice P. B. Bajanthri and Justice Alok Kumar Sinha delivered a 3-page long judgement dated September 23, 2025, wherein, it concluded: "We find there is no merit other than harsh penalty of blacklisting for about 10 years. The authority, who has passed the impugned order dated 01.01.2025 is hereby directed to re-examine insofar as quantum of number of years of blacklisting in the light of Hon’ble Supreme Court decision in the case of Daffodills Pharmaceuticals Limited and Another versus State of Uttar Pradesh and Another reported in (2020) 18 Supreme Court Cases 550 read with Article 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution that petitioner’s livelihood is at stake for almost a decade in event of giving effect to blacklisting for a period of 10 years." It noted that the Appellate Authority's order has no merit.

In his 6th judgement as chief justice, Justice Bajanthri observed: "The Appellate Authority order is also set aside. The concerned Authority is hereby directed to pass a fresh order insofar as blacklisting while taking note of the aforementioned observation. The above exercise shall be completed within a period of three months from the date of receipt of this order. 4. Accordingly, the instant Writ petition stands disposed of.