IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) PRESENT: THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY TUESDAY, THE TWENTY FIRST DAY OF DECEMBER, TWO THOUSAND AND TEN WRIT PETITION No.30383 of 2010 Between: M/s. Progressive Constructions Ltd., Reptd., by its Senior Manager (Legal) Mr.T.Vara Prasad. … Petitioner And Government of Andhra Pradesh, Reptd., by its Principal Secretary, Irrigation and Command Area Development Department, Secretariat Buildings, Hyderabad and others. … Respondents Counsel for the petitioner: Sri S.Vivek Chandrasekhar. Counsel for the respondents: GP for Irrigation for R1 to R3. None for R.4. This Court made the following: ORDER: This Writ Petition is filed for a Mandamus to declare the action of the respondents in withholding the amounts payable to the petitioner by applying Memo No.5217/Reforms(A1)/2006, dated 23-2-2006 of respondent No.1, as illegal and arbitrary. The petitioner also sought for a declaration that the said memo has no application to the petitioner’s contract pertaining to the work of “ISRMC Package-II from km 14.800 to km 13.199, Agreement No.7SE/2004-05 dated 20-10- 2004”. At the hearing, Sri S.Vivek Chandrasekhar, learned counsel for the petitioner, stated that this Writ Petition is squarely covered by judgment, dated 28-8- 2009, of this Court in Writ Petition No.443 of 2009 and batch, wherein this Court allowed similar Writ Petitions and restrained the respondents from withholding any amounts towards EMD and retention amounts contrary to the terms envisaged in the contracts entered into with the petitioners therein. A further direction was also given that the excess amounts, if any, withheld shall be released to the petitioners within a reasonable period, which shall not be later than three months. Following the above judgment, this Writ Petition is allowed with the direction that the reasons and directions contained therein shall form part of this order. __________________________ C.V. NAGARJUNA REDDY,J Dt.21-12-2010 MNR