Delhi High Court grants relief to Haj Group Organizers in case against blacklisting

The Delhi High Court recently set aside the Ministry of Minority Affairs's orders to blacklist various travel agencies from applying for registration as Haj Group Organizers (HGOs) for periods ranging from 5 -15 years [Benzy Tours and Travels Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India].

Justice Sanjeev Narula said the show-cause notices issued to the HGOs prior to the blacklisting failed to provide specific details about the proposed action.

"Therefore, in the absence of specific details of the provisions in the show cause notices about the proposed action of blacklisting or debarment, the Petitioners were denied a fair opportunity to mount a proper defence against such severe punitive measures, including blacklisting/debarment and the forfeiture of their security deposits," the Court said in its September 18 decision.

The Court granting relief to the HGOs but directed the Centre to issue fresh show cause notices within a week, clearly specifying the alleged violations of the 2023 Haj Policy and the proposed actions.

It further said the HGOs be permitted to respond to the fresh show cause notices within one week . Based on their response, the Centre has been directed to pass a fresh decision within a 10-day period.

In the meantime, the Court said the HGOs would be eligible to apply for Haj, 2025.

"Considering that the impugned orders have been set aside, it follows that there is no subsisting order of blacklisting/debarment against the Petitioners. Hence, the Petitioners are eligible to apply for Haj, 2025. Such applications would be scrutinized in accordance with law, however, the allocation of seats to the Petitioners shall proceed only after decisions are rendered on the fresh issued show cause notices. It is understood that these decisions will be made prior to the commencement of the seat allocation process for HGOs," the Court ordered.

HGOs facilitate the pilgrimage for Haj and Umrah to Saudi Arabia. As per the bilateral agreement between the Government of India and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi government allocates a fixed number of seats, allowing HGOs to send pilgrims for Haj.

In May 2023, the petitioner-HGOs had been served with show cause notices following a complaint, alleging cartelization and black-marketing of HGO seats.

However, they challenged the notices and got interim relief from the High Court - they were allowed to proceed with their business for Haj, 2023.

Later, pursuant to the show-cause notices, the HGOs were blacklisted for specific periods starting from Haj, 2024.

They challenged the blacklisting and argued that show-cause notices itself were defective in law as they did not explicitly mention that the Centre was contemplating the imposition of severe penalties of debarment/blacklisting or the forfeiture of the security deposits.

The Court agreed and found that the notices fell short of the requisite legal threshold that must be met before taking such a drastic action.

"The fundamental principle of natural justice necessitates that the notice must explicitly mention the proposed action of blacklisting/debarment, giving the recipient a clear opportunity to respond adequately to such a serious consequence. Failure to specify this action leaves the notice deficient and vitiates the basis for the subsequent blacklisting/debarment orders," it said.

Advocates Sulaiman Mohd. Khan, Taiba Khan, Bhanu Malhotra, Gopeshwar Singh Chandel, Abdul Bari Khan and Aditi Chaudhary appeared for the petitioners.

Central Government Standing Counsel Mukul Singh, Anurag Ahluwalia, Manish Mohan and others represented the Union of India.

[Read Order]