I-22 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + O.M.P. 353/2006 BIHAR STATE HYDRO POWER CORPORATION ..... Petitioner Through: Mr. Nagendra Rai, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Amit Kumar and Mr. Ashish Kumar, Advocates versus BHARAT HEAVY ELECTRICAL LTD AC+ ..... Respondent Through: Mr. J.C. Seth with Mr. Sanjay Kr., Advocates CORAM: HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE REVA KHETRAPAL 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? 2. To be referred to the Reporter or not? 3. Whether judgment should be reported in Digest? ORDER % 06.05.2008 : REVA KHETRAPAL, J. (ORAL) 1. This is a petition under Section 9 of the Arbitration Act, 1996 filed by the Bihar State Hydro Power Corporation, which is admittedly a State Government undertaking against the Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd., which is a Central Public Sector Company, praying for the issuance of appropriate O.M.P. 353/2006 Page 1 of 4 directions and orders, directing the respondent to supply the requisite material for which payment has already been received by the respondent. The case of the respondent is that the petition is in an actual fact a petition for performance of the contract between the parties though in the garb of an application under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. This aspect, however, need not be gone into by this Court for the reason that the counsel for both the parties are in principle agreed that considering the nature of the controversy, which is between a department of the State and a department of the Central Government/Public Sector Undertaking, in terms of the judgment of the Supreme Court in the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. vs. City & Industrial Development Corporation, Maharashtra Ltd. and Ors. reported in (2007) 7 SCC 39, the matter has to be sorted out by a High-Powered Committee constituted by the Supreme Court, comprising of the following: (i) The Cabinet Secretary of the Union, (ii) Chief Secretary of the State, (iii) Secretaries of the departments concerned of the Union and States; and (iv) Chief Executive Officers of the undertakings concerned. 2. Both counsel are in tandem that it is for the aforementioned High- Powered Committee to refer the matter to this Court and/or a Tribunal, if O.M.P. 353/2006 Page 2 of 4 deemed fit and proper, the said High-Powered Committee having been set up for the purpose of ensuring that frivolous disputes do not come up before the Courts and Tribunals without clearance from the High-Powered Committee. If it can, the High-Powered Committee is expected to resolve the disputes inter se Government departments and undertakings. If the dispute is a bonafide one which is not capable of being resolved by the High-Powered Committee, the High-Powered Committee would undoubtedly give clearance to the resolution of the dispute before a Court of law or a Tribunal, as the case may be. Since the Committee is constituted of highly placed officers of the Government, who do not have any interest in the dispute, their decision on whether the litigation is frivolous or not, even it found to be unpalatable by one of the parties, cannot be given the go-by and has to be abided by. In short, the entire purpose of the constitution of such a Committee under the order of the Supreme Court is to ensure that inter-se Government departments there is no quibbling over petty issues leading to further burgeoning of dockets in the Courts over matters of little or no import. 3. In the instant case, however, the counsel for both the parties are not in a position to apprise this Court as to whether or not a High-Powered Committee on a permanent basis has been constituted in terms of the judgment of the Supreme Court in the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (supra). According O.M.P. 353/2006 Page 3 of 4 to the counsel for the petitioner, there is no permanent High-Powered Committee in existence whereas, according to the counsel for the respondent such a High-Powered Committee is already in existence. To avoid further delay in the matter, the present petition is, therefore, disposed of with the direction to the petitioner to move the High-Powered Committee, if already in existence, and, in case a High-Powered Committee is required to be constituted and/or set up, to move the Cabinet Secretary of the Union for the constitution of the same in terms of the judgment of the Supreme Court in the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (supra). Such a High-Powered Committee in consonance with the terms of the judgment of the Supreme Court shall be constituted within four weeks of the petitioner moving an application before the Cabinet Secretary of the Union, if not already in existence, and shall take a decision on the present case within four months from the date of its constitution. A copy of the aforesaid decision shall be furnished to the counsel for both the parties. 4. The petition stands disposed of with the aforesaid directions and observations. REVA KHETRAPAL,J MAY 06, 2008 km O.M.P. 353/2006 Page 4 of 4