Shivani Varma Vs Govt of NCT of Delhi & Ors. — Delhi HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

Shivani Varma Vs Govt of NCT of Delhi & Ors. — Delhi HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Petition disposed of with directions: (i) petitioner to file reply within 10 days; (ii) on receipt of the reply, the matter to be taken to its logical conclusion without being influenced by any expression in the notice dated 17.11.2025, with due opportunity to all parties; (iii) matter to be called out before the authority on 05.02.2026; all rights and contentions left open.

Issue for consideration

Whether the show-cause notice dated 17.11.2025 was issued with a pre-determined mind, without consideration of the petitioner's reply.

Court's answer

The expression used in the show-cause notice dated 17.11.2025 is a prima facie opinion.

Ratio / Principle

The petitioner will have to be heard and his reply will have to be considered if presented before the concerned Authority at an appropriate stage.

Key takeaways

On receipt of the reply, the authority shall take the matter to its logical conclusion without being influenced by any of the expression made in the notice dated 17.11.2025, with due opportunity to all the parties; the petitioner was directed to file the reply within 10 days and the matter was called out before the authority on 05.02.2026.ratio¶14
All the rights and contentions of the parties are left open.obiter¶17

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Delhi High Court (Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, J.) disposed of a writ petition challenging a show-cause notice dated 17.11.2025 issued by the Statutory Authority under the Delhi Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Rules, 2017, in which the petitioner alleged the notice was issued with a pre-determined mind without considering her reply. The Court found the expression in the notice to be a prima facie opinion, held that the petitioner would have to be heard and her reply considered if placed before the Authority, and disposed of the petition with directions: reply to be filed within 10 days; the matter to proceed to its logical conclusion uninfluenced by the notice's expressions, with due opportunity to all parties; and a hearing before the authority on 05.02.2026. All rights and contentions were left open.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

- W.P.(C) 17860/2025 and CM APPL. 73797/2025 SHIVANI VARMA .....Petitioner

Through: Mr. Sandeep Sethi, Sr. Adv and Mr. Shashank Garg Sr. Adv with Mr. Rajinder Singh, Mr Vibhor Tyagi, Ms. Jasmine paweriya, Ms.Aradhya Chaturdevi and Mr. Krisna Advs.

versus

GOVT OF NCT OF DELHI & ORS. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Rajiv Nayar, Sr. Adv and Mr. Arvind Nayar, Sr. Adv with Mr. Prashant Mendiratta, Mr. Akshay Joshi and Ms. Neha Jain, Advs. for R- 2. Mr. Satvik Verma, Sr. Adv and Mr. Akhil Sibal, Sr. Adv with Ms. Shreya Singhal, Mr. Krishnesh, Ms. Vijayrajeshwari Kumari and Mr. Vedanta Verma, Advs for R-4.

CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV O R D E R % 16.01.2026

Heard learned counsel appearing for the parties. The Court finds that the petition is against the show-cause dated 17.11.2025 issued by the Statutory Authority under the provisions of the Delhi Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Rules, 2017. The solitary grievance raised by Mr. Sandeep Sethi, is that while issuing the

This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 19/01/2026 at 13:15:13

notice, the authority has not considered the petitioner’s reply and has issued the notice with pre-determined mind.

Having considered the nature of the expression used in the notice, the Court finds that the same is prima facie opinion. Even otherwise, the petitioner will have to be heard and his reply will have to be considered if the same is presented before the concerned Authority at an appropriate stage.

Having considered the nature of the facts and circumstances as well as grievance put forth in this petition, it would be appropriate to dispose of the same with the following directions:

(i) Let the petitioner to file the reply within a period of 10 days from today.

(ii) On receipt of the reply, let the matter be taken to its logical conclusion, without being influenced by any of the expression made in the notice dated 17.11.2025 with due opportunity to all the parties.

(iii) Let the matter be called out before the authority on 05.02.2026.

The petition stands disposed of.

All the rights and contentions are left open.

PURUSHAINDRA KUMAR KAURAV, J

JANUARY 16, 2026 aks/ap

This is a digitally signed order.

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 19/01/2026 at 13:15:13