In May 2023, the petitioner-HGOs received show cause notices following a complaint alleging cartelization and black-marketing of HGO seats. The HGOs contested the notices and secured interim relief from the High Court, allowing them to conduct business for Haj, 2023.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court set aside the Ministry of Minority Affairs’ orders that blacklisted several travel agencies from registering as Haj Group Organizers (HGOs) for periods ranging from 5 to 15 years.
Justice Sanjeev Narula noted that the show-cause notices issued to the HGOs before the blacklisting lacked specific details regarding the intended punitive action.
“Without clear information in the show-cause notices about the intended blacklisting or debarment, the Petitioners were deprived of a fair chance to present an adequate defense against such severe punitive actions, including blacklisting, debarment, and the forfeiture of security deposits,” the Court ruled on September 18.
The Court granted relief to the HGOs while directing the Centre to issue fresh show cause notices within a week, clearly outlining the alleged violations of the 2023 Haj Policy and the proposed actions.
The HGOs were allowed one week to respond to these fresh notices. Based on their responses, the Centre is required to make a fresh decision within 10 days.
Meanwhile, the Court clarified that the HGOs are eligible to apply for Haj, 2025.
“Since the impugned orders have been set aside, there is no existing order of blacklisting or debarment against the Petitioners. Hence, they are eligible to apply for Haj, 2025. However, while their applications will be scrutinized as per law, the allocation of seats will only proceed after decisions are made on the new show cause notices, which will be done before the seat allocation process for HGOs begins,”
the Court stated.
HGOs facilitate Haj and Umrah pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia. Under a bilateral agreement between the Indian and Saudi governments, a set number of seats are allocated to HGOs for sending pilgrims.
In May 2023, the petitioner-HGOs received show cause notices following a complaint alleging cartelization and black-marketing of HGO seats. The HGOs contested the notices and secured interim relief from the High Court, allowing them to conduct business for Haj, 2023.
Subsequently, the HGOs were blacklisted for specific periods starting from Haj, 2024, following the show cause notices. The HGOs challenged the blacklisting, arguing that the notices were legally defective as they failed to explicitly state that the Centre was considering severe penalties such as debarment, blacklisting, or forfeiture of security deposits.
The Court agreed, stating that the notices did not meet the required legal standards for such significant actions.
“The principle of natural justice requires that the notice clearly mention the proposed actions of blacklisting or debarment, giving the recipients a fair opportunity to respond. Failure to specify this renders the notices deficient and invalidates the subsequent blacklisting or debarment orders,”
the Court noted.
Advocates Sulaiman Mohd. Khan, Taiba Khan, Bhanu Malhotra, Gopeshwar Singh Chandel, Abdul Bari Khan, and Aditi Chaudhary represented the petitioners, while Central Government Standing Counsel Mukul Singh, Anurag Ahluwalia, Manish Mohan, and others appeared for the Union of India.
Case Title: Benzy Tours and Travels Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India
