Santosh Kumar Mishra Vs State of U.P. and 12 Others — Allahabad HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

Santosh Kumar Mishra Vs State of U.P. and 12 Others — Allahabad HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Transfer of Appeal No. 5 of 2026 (Virendra & others v. District Level Caste Certificate Verification Committee Varanasi & Another) from the Commissioner, Varanasi Division, Varanasi to the Commissioner, Prayagraj Division, Prayagraj; the transferee authority to decide the appeal expeditiously, strictly in accordance with law, after affording due opportunity of hearing to all concerned parties; records of the appeal to be transmitted forthwith to the transferee authority.

Issue for consideration

Whether Appeal No. 5 of 2026 pending before the Commissioner, Varanasi Division should be transferred to another Divisional Commissioner, given that the officer who passed the original order as District Magistrate, Varanasi has been posted as Commissioner, Varanasi Division and is seized of the appellate jurisdiction, raising a plea of bias under the principles of natural justice.

Court's answer

The petitioner's apprehension is well-founded: allowing the same officer who passed the original order as District Magistrate to decide the appeal against his own order as Commissioner would give rise to a reasonable likelihood of bias and would be inconsistent with the principles of fair adjudication.

Ratio / Principle

In the interest of justice, the writ petition is allowed: (i) Appeal No. 5 of 2026 is transferred from the Commissioner, Varanasi Division, Varanasi to the Commissioner, Prayagraj Division, Prayagraj; (ii) the transferee authority shall decide the appeal expeditiously, strictly in accordance with law, after affording due opportunity of hearing to all concerned parties; and (iii) the records of the appeal shall be transmitted forthwith to the transferee authority.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Allahabad High Court (Vinod Diwakar, J.) allowed a writ petition seeking transfer of Appeal No. 5 of 2026 (Virendra & others v. District Level Caste Certificate Verification Committee Varanasi & Another) from the Divisional Appellate Forum/Commissioner, Varanasi Division, to the Commissioner, Prayagraj Division. The officer who had passed the impugned order as District Magistrate, Varanasi was subsequently posted as Commissioner, Varanasi Division and stood seized of the appeal against his own order. Holding that such an arrangement would give rise to a reasonable likelihood of bias and be inconsistent with the principles of fair adjudication and natural justice, the Court directed transfer of the appeal, expeditious disposal in accordance with law after due hearing, and forthwith transmission of the records. The Court noted that a Co-ordinate Bench in Writ-C No. 11501 of 2026 had similarly ordered transfer in comparable circumstances; the State raised no objection and suggested transfer to the Commissioner, Prayagraj Division.

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD

WRIT - C No. - 11644 of 2026

Santosh Kumar Mishra

.....Petitioner(s)

	Versus
State Of U.P. And 12 Others			.....Respondent(s)
Counsel for Petitioner(s)	: Brijesh Kumar Vijai Kumar Rai	Rai,	Tej Bahadur Rai,
Counsel for Respondent(s)	: C.S.C.

Court No. - 37 ....

HON'BLE VINOD DIWAKAR, J.

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner, learned Standing Counsel for the State, and perused the record.

The present petition has been filed seeking a direction to the competent authority to transfer Appeal No. 5 of 2026 (Virendra & others v. District Level Caste Certificate Verification Committee Varanasi & Another) from the Court of the Divisional Appellate Forum/Commissioner, Varanasi Division, Varanasi, to any other competent Divisional Commissioner of an adjoining Commissionerate.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner, being aggrieved by the order passed by the District Magistrate, Varanasi preferred the aforesaid appeal before the Commissioner, Varanasi Division, Varanasi. It is further submitted that the officer who passed the impugned order in the capacity of District Magistrate has subsequently been posted as the Commissioner, Varanasi Division, and is presently seized of the appellate jurisdiction in the matter.

It is contended that the same officer, having passed the original order, cannot sit in appeal over his own decision, as the same would be contrary to the settled principles of natural justice.

Learned Standing Counsel, on instructions, submits that the State has no objection to the prayer made by the petitioner and that the appeal may appropriately be transferred to another competent authority, such as the Commissioner, Prayagraj Division.

WRIC No. 11644 of 2026

2

It is also brought to the notice of the Court that in similar circumstances, a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in Writ-C No. 11501 of 2026 has passed an order directing transfer of the appeal to another Division to ensure fairness in adjudication.

Having considered the submissions advanced by learned counsel for the parties and upon perusal of the record, this Court finds that the apprehension expressed by the petitioner is well-founded. Allowing the same officer to decide the appeal against his own order would give rise to a reasonable likelihood of bias and would be inconsistent with the principles of fair adjudication.

Accordingly, in the interest of justice, the present petition is allowed with the following directions: (i) Appeal No. 5 of 2026 (Virendra & others v. District Level Caste Certificate Verification Committee Varanasi & Another) pending before the Commissioner, Varanasi Division, Varanasi, shall stand transferred to the Court of the Commissioner, Prayagraj Division, Prayagraj, (ii) The transferee authority shall decide the appeal expeditiously, strictly in accordance with law, after affording due opportunity of hearing to all concerned parties, (iii) The records of the appeal shall be transmitted forthwith to the transferee authority to avoid unnecessary delay

April 20, 2026 Anil K. Sharma

(Vinod Diwakar,J.)

Digitally signed by :- ANIL KUMAR SHARMA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad