Tripura Govt. Faces Consecutive Legal Defeats from SC to Lower Courts: High Court Slams Arbitrary and Unjust Decisions, Imposes Rs. 1.5 Lakh Penalty
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, November 5, 2025
The Tripura Government continues to suffer a series of legal setbacks in courts ranging from the Supreme Court to the lower judiciary. In several cases, courts have not only ruled against the state but also imposed monetary penalties on the government. Legal experts attribute these repeated defeats to the negligence, inefficiency, and, in some instances, unethical conduct of government-appointed lawyers.
Serious allegations have now surfaced suggesting that some lawyers representing the state government were previously engaged as counsels for the opposing parties in the same cases. This has raised suspicions of fixed matches between both sides under the guise of legal proceedings. Shockingly, even the newly appointed Advocate General’s name has been mentioned in this controversy.
The issue came to light once again after the state government recently lost another crucial case in the Tripura High Court related to liquor license cancellation. Just three days ago, the government lost a similar case concerning the cancellation of a bar license near Rabindra Bhavan in Agartala.
In the latest judgment, the High Court has imposed a penalty of Rs. 1.5 lakh on the Tripura Government, ordering payment of Rs. 50,000 each to three petitioners. The Division Bench of Chief Justice MS Ramachandra Rao and Justice SD Purkayastha severely criticized the government’s arbitrary actions and the poor handling of the case by its legal representatives.
The case pertained to three foreign liquor shop (FL Shop) tenders invited by district administrations of Dhalai and West Tripura in 2023 and 2024. The petitioners had emerged as the highest bidders but were later denied licenses after the state government abruptly cancelled all three tender processes without citing any valid reasons.
Challenging this arbitrary decision, the affected bidders filed three separate writ petitions in the Tripura High Court. During the hearings, the state government’s advocates failed to justify the cancellation, while the petitioners argued that they had already made substantial investments in infrastructure, expecting to receive licenses as the highest bidders.
After hearing both sides, the High Court quashed the government’s cancellation orders, calling them whimsical, unreasonable, and baseless. The Bench held that the decision violated Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees equality before law. The Court also allowed the petitioners to seek further compensation by filing civil suits against the state government.
Notably, the petitioners were represented by senior advocate Purushottam Roy Barman, along with advocates Samarjit Bhattacharjee, Kaushik Nath, and Dipjyoti Pal.
This latest verdict adds to the growing list of judicial rebukes against the Tripura Government, highlighting systemic lapses, questionable legal strategies, and a lack of accountability within the state’s legal framework.
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