Bharat Ram Sahu Vs State of Chhattisgarh

1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Secretary, Revenue And Disaster Management Department, Mantralaya Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar, Nawa Raipur, District : Raipur, Chhattisgarh

¶11

2 - Under Secretary, Revenue And Disaster Management Department, Mantralaya Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar, Nawa Raipur, District : Raipur, Chhattisgarh

¶12

3 - Collector, Gariabandh, District Gariabandh, Chhattisgarh.

¶13

4 - Upper Collector, Gariabandh, District Gariabandh, Chhattisgarh.

¶14

2

¶15

5 - Joint Collector, Gariabandh, District Gariabandh, Chhattisgarh.

¶16

6 - Sub - Divisional Officer, Deobhog, District Gariabandh, Chhattisgarh.

¶17

7 - Sub - Divisional Officer, Mainpur, District Gariabandh, Chhattisgarh.

¶18

8 - Tehsildar, Mainpur, District Gariabandh, Chhattisgarh.

¶19

9 - Collector, Dhamtari, District : Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh

¶20

10 - Upper Collector, Dhamtari, District : Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh

¶21

11 - Sub - Divisional Officer, Kurud, District : Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh

¶22

12 - Tehsildar, Bhakhara, District : Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh

¶23

... Respondent(s) For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Priyanshu Gupta, Advocate. For Respondent(s)/State : Mr. Devesh G. Kela, Panel Laywer.

¶24

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad

¶25

Order on Board

¶26

10/09/2025

¶27

By way of this petition, the petitioner has prayed for following

¶28

reliefs:-

¶29

“10.1. The Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased push the

¶30

3

¶31

show cause notice dated 27.02.2023 (Annexure-P-1) as the same has been saved in violation to the Article 14 & 16 of the Constitution of India.

¶32

10. 2. This Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondent No. 3 and 7 to forward the Lair Pay Certificate, Pass Book, Service Records and other concerned documents of the petitioner to his new place of posting as per transfer Order dated 30.09.2022.

¶33

10.3) This Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to issue appropriate directions to the respondent authorities to release the salary of the petitioner.

¶34

10.4) This Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondent No. 3 and 7 to comply with Order dated 30.09.2022 passed by respondent No. 2.

¶35

10.5). Any other relief which this Hon'ble Court deems fit and proper may also kindly be granted to the petitioner, in the interest of of justice.”

¶36

Brief facts of the case, is that, the instant writ petition has been filed by the petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, being aggrieved by the arbitrary actions and in actions of respondents No. 1 to 8. Despite the issuance of a transfer order dated 30.09.2022 by respondent No. 2, the petitioner was not relieved from his previous post, despite submitting several representations requesting a relieving order. These representations remained pending and undecided, preventing the

¶37

4

¶38

petitioner from assuming charge at his new place of posting. In response to similar issues, respondent No. 2 issued a letter dated 02.12.2022 directing all Collectors to relieve transferred employees within seven days. However, despite this directive, the petitioner was not relieved, while another similarly situated Patwari was relieved by Respondent No. 7 through an order dated 22.12.2022. When the petitioner reported at his new posting in compliance with the transfer order, Respondents No. 3 and 7 arbitrarily issued a show cause notice (Annexure P-1) against him. Furthermore, although the petitioner has been discharging his duties regularly, he has not received his monthly salary as his Last Pay Certificate (LPC), Pass Book, and Service Records have not been forwarded by Respondents No. 3 and 7 to his new place of posting. With a show cause notice already issued, the petitioner also faces the possibility of departmental enquiry being initiated against him at any time. Hence, this petition.

¶39

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the impugned Show Cause Notice dated 27.02.2023 (Annexure P-1), issued by Respondent No. 3, is wholly arbitrary, unjust, and contrary to the Transfer Order dated 30.09.2022 (Annexure P-8), which was passed by Respondent No. 2 and directed the immediate compliance of transfer by ensuring that the concerned employees are relieved from their existing postings. He further submits that despite the petitioner making multiple representations dated 02.11.2022 and 21.11.2022 (Annexures P-9 and P-10

¶40

5

¶41

respectively) to Respondents No. 3 and 7, seeking his relieving order to join his new place of posting, the respondents failed to act in compliance with the binding directive, thereby causing noncompliance that was no fault of the petitioner. He further submits that this non-relieving was in blatant disregard of subsequent directions dated 02.12.2022 (Annexure P-11) issued by Respondent No. 2 to all district collectors, mandating the issuance of relieving orders within seven days for transferred employees. He further submtis that Respondents No. 3 and 7 acted in a discriminatory and arbitrary manner by selectively relieving similarly placed employees while deliberately withholding the petitioner's relieving, as evident from order dated 22.12.2022 (Annexure P-14), thereby violating Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. He further submits that the issuance of the impugned Show Cause Notice, therefore, without reference to the petitioner's repeated representations and without any failure or dereliction on his part, is not only malafide and unsustainable in law but also appears to be an attempt to initiate disciplinary action without just basis. He further submits that even after the petitioner complied with the transfer and took charge at his new place of posting in Dhamtari as per order dated 25.01.2023 (Annexure P- 15), Respondents No. 3 and 7, acting with continued vindictiveness, failed to forward his Last Pay Certificate (LPC), Service Book, and Pass Book, as a result of which he has been deprived of his salary for over four months, causing severe

¶42

6

¶43

financial hardship and violating his fundamental right to livelihood. It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed that the impugned Show Cause Notice be quashed, and consequential reliefs be granted in the interest of justice.

¶44

On the other hand, learned counsel for the respondent State opposes the submissions made by the petitioner by contending that the issuance of the Show Cause Notice dated 27.02.2023 is a lawful and necessary step taken in accordance with service rules, owing to the petitioner’s failure to report at his transferred place of posting within the stipulated time despite being duly informed. It is submitted that the petitioner’s allegations of arbitrary conduct and discrimination are baseless, as the administrative action taken was uniform and in accordance with the directions issued by the competent authority. The respondent asserts that the petitioner did not comply with the procedure for obtaining relieving from his prior post and instead chose to proceed unilaterally, leading to administrative discrepancies. Furthermore, it is submitted that the claim of non-receipt of salary due to non-forwarding of service documents lacks merit, as the same was contingent upon proper compliance with transfer protocols, which the petitioner failed to adhere to. Therefore, the Show Cause Notice cannot be said to be malafide or without basis and is part of the due process to examine the petitioner's conduct in the matter.

¶45

I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record.

¶46

7

¶47

Considering the overall facts and circumstances of the present case, and upon careful examination of the submissions made, this Court is of the considered view that the instant petition, at this stage, is premature and, therefore, does not warrant adjudication on merits. However, in the interest of justice and to safeguard the rights of the petitioner, liberty is reserved to the petitioner to raise and agitate the issues involved herein at an appropriate stage, as and when any exigency or cause of action arises in future.

¶48

With this observation, the writ petition is disposed of.

¶49

Sd/-

¶50

(Amitendra Kishore Prasad)

¶51

Judge

¶52

Raghu Jat

Bharat Ram Sahu v. State of Chhattisgarh

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Bharat Ram Sahu v. State of Chhattisgarh

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Why is it important?

What the court decided

Issues for consideration

Statutes considered

Procedural history

Parties & counsel

Coram

Case details

Similar cases

Rajesh Kumar Gajendra Vs State of Chhattisgarh

Kiran Sahu Vs State of Chhattisgarh

Shweta Dwivedi Vs State of Chhattisgarh

Branch Manager, The Oriental Insurance Company Limited Vs Smt. Sulki Korram

Branch Manager, Shriram General Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs Mohan Kanhai

Aakash Patel Vs State of Chhattisgarh