Gauhati High Court Assent Chemicals Ltd vs The State Of Assam And 3 Ors on 6 February, 2019 Page No.# 1/3 GAHC010022082019 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C) 736/2019 1:ASSENT CHEMICALS LTD. VIRENDRA AGARWAL, AGED ABOUT 28 YEARS ONE OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE PETITIONER, A PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY REGISTERED UNDER THE COMPANIES ACT, HAVING ITS REGISTERED OFFICE AT 1C, ROYAL SILVER TOWER, LACHIT NAGAR, GUWAHATI 781007. VERSUS 1:THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 3 ORS. REP. BY THE SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM, PUBLIC HEALTH ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, DISPUR, GUWAHATI 781003. 2:THE CHIEF ENGINEER PUBLIC HEALTH ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT (WATER) GOVT. OF ASSAM HENGRABARI GUWAHATI 781003. 3:THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER PHE STORES AND WORKSHOP DIVISION BETKUCHI GUWAHATI. 4:THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER PHE JORHAT DIVISION JORHAT ASSA Advocate for the Petitioner : MS M HAZARIKA Advocate for the Respondent : SC, P H E Page No.# 2/3 BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE UJJAL BHUYAN ORDER Date : 06022019 Heard Ms. M. Hazarika, learned Senior counsel, assisted by Ms. Kewizun, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. P.N. Goswami, learned Standing Counsel for the Public Health Engineering Department (PHE). Petitioner is a small scale industrial unit duly registered under the Directorate of Industries as such. Petitioner unit is also registered under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (for short, "MSMED Act, 2006"). Petitioner has been supplying its manufactured items to the respondents and raising bills from time to time. Respondents had partially cleared the outstanding bills but a substantial amount is yet to be paid to the petitioner. Ms. Hazarika has submitted that for any default of the respondents in making payment for products supplied by the petitioner, Section 16 of the MSMED Act, 2006 provides for payment of compound interest. Therefore, respondents are liable to pay the total outstanding dues of various bills still to be cleared with interest under Section 16 of the MSMED Act, 2006. She has further submitted that petitioner had submitted a representation dated 01.09.2018 addressed to (I) the Secretary, PHE Department, Govt. of Assam and (ii) the Chief Engineer, PHE, Govt. of Assam for payment of the outstanding bills due to the petitioner along with interest accrued thereon as per the provisions of the MSMED Act, 2006. However, the said representation has not yet been disposed of. Mr. Goswami submits that the writ petition can be disposed of by directing the respondents, particularly, the Chief Engineer, PHE to look into the petitioner's representation and to pass appropriate order(s) as well as to make payment, if entitled to, after undertaking necessary verification. Ms. Hazarika submits that this court may fix a time frame as may be considered appropriate for disposal of the petitioner's representation and for making payment. Mr. Goswami has no objection. Having regard to the submissions made by learned counsel for the parties, Chief Engineer, PHE is directed to consider the representation dated 01.09.2018 filed by the petitioner for making payment of outstanding dues with interest within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order. Page No.# 3/3 Writ petition is disposed of. JUDGE Comparing Assistant