Dismissed¶8

The State of Assam and 3 Ors. v. Dharmananda Kalita

Gauhati HC10 Aug 2025Review.Pet./151/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Gauhati High Court; Review.Pet./151/2025; Justice Devashis Baruah; judgment dated 11.08.2025; review of writ order; WP(C) No.5671/2021; nonjoinder of necessary party; Ministry of Jal Shakti; Deputy Solicitor General of India; State of Assam Water Resources Department; Chief Engineer; Superintending Engineer; Executive Engineer; pending bills; supplementary budget; release of scheme amounts; Brahmaputra Board; Dharmananda Kalita; review petition dismissed.

What did the court decide?

By the order dated 27.09.2022, direction was issued to the Ministry of Jal Shakti to release the amount due under the scheme; the Ministry was duly represented by the learned Deputy Solicitor General of India, no objection was raised on the ground of nonjoinder of necessary party, and the Ministry has not sought any review of the order. ¶5

The State of Assam and 3 Ors. Vs Dharmananda Kalita — Gauhati HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Dismissed

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Issue for consideration

Whether the common order dated 27.09.2022 passed in WP(C) No.5671/2021 and connected writ petitions can be reviewed/recalled on the ground that the Ministry of Jal Shakti was not made a party. +1 more

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Court's answer

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Ratio / Principle

It was for the writ petitioners to implead the Ministry of Jal Shakti; if their failure resulted in the order dated 27.09.2022 being incapable of implementation on technical grounds, the writ petitioners themselves would have to face the consequences, and that cannot be a ground for this Court to review or recall the order, which was passed after hearing counsel including the Deputy Solicitor General representing the Ministry of Jal Shakti in the Union of India as well as the Brahmaputra Board.

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Key takeaways

This Court does not find any good ground to review the order dated 27.09.2022.ratio¶7

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Review Petition dismissed. The State of Assam (Water Resources Department) and its officers sought review of the common order dated 27.09.2022 passed by a Coordinate Bench of the Gauhati High Court in WP(C) No.5671/2021 along with a batch of connected writ petitions, which had directed (i) communication of the supplementary budget pertaining to the scheme to the Ministry of Jal Shakti within 15 days, (ii) release by the Ministry of the amounts due under the schemes within 60 days, and (iii) processing and clearance of the writ petitioners' bills within a further 45 days. Counsel argued that the Ministry of Jal Shakti was not made a party in some connected petitions and that the writ petitions should be heard afresh after notice to the Ministry, while candidly admitting the order had not been complied with even where the Ministry was impleaded. The Court held that the Ministry had been duly represented by the Deputy Solicitor General of India in the original proceedings, no objection of nonjoinder was then raised, and the Ministry itself never sought review; any consequence of the writ petitioners' failure to implead the Ministry falls on the writ petitioners and cannot be a ground to review or recall the order. Finding no good ground to review the order dated 27.09.2022, the Court dismissed the Review Petition as devoid of merit.

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GAHC010130372025

2025:GAU-AS:10591

THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)

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Case No. : Review.Pet./151/2025

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THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 3 ORS REPRESENTED BY THE SECY. TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM, WATER RESOURCES DEPTT., DISPUR, GUWAHATI 781006, ASSAM.

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2: THE CHIEF ENGINEER

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WATER RESOURCES DEPTT. CHANDMARI GUWAHATI 03 ASSAM.

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3: THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER

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WATER RESOURCES DEPTT. BHARALUMUKH GUWAHATI 9 ASSAM.

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4: THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER

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WATER RESOURCES DEPTT. GUWAHATI WEST WATER RESOURCES DIVISION BHARALUMUKH GUWAHATI 9 ASSAM

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VERSUS

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DHARMANANDA KALITA

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S/O SRI ANANDI RAM KALITA, R/O VILL. BIRPARA, P.O. BIRPARA, P.S. BOKO, DIST. KAMRUP, ASSAM.

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For the petitioner (s) : Ms. R. Deka,

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SC, Water Resource

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For the respondent (s) : XXXX

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BEFORE

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HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVASHIS BARUAH

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Date of Hearing : 11.08.2025 Date of Judgment : 11.08.2025

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JUDGMENT AND ORDER (ORAL)

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Heard Ms. R. Deka, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the review petitioners.

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The present review application has been filed challenging the common order dated 27.09.2022 passed in WP(C) No.5671/2021 whereby the learned Coordinate Bench of this Court after hearing the learned counsel for the parties in the said writ petition along with the batch of connected writ petitions passed the following order:-

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“(1) Within 15 (fifteen) days from today, the concerned official of the State Government of Assam will communicate the supplementary budget passed in the last Assembly Session pertaining to the scheme to the competent authority of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.

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(2) Within 60 (sixty) days from the date of receipt of such

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communication, the Ministry of Jal Shakti to release the amount due under the schemes to the concerned Department of the Government of Assam.

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(3) Upon receipt of the amount, bills of the writ petitioners shall be processed and cleared within a further period of 45 days.

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In view of the directions issued herein above, the respondents to complete the entire process within a period of four months from today.

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A copy of this order be furnished to Mr. B. Goswami, learned Addl. Advocate General, Assam and Mr. R. K. Dev Choudhury, learned DSGI.

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The written instructions dated 26.09.2022 be kept as a part of the record of this case.

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All these writ petitions stand disposed of accordingly.”

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By referring to the order dated 27.09.2022, Ms. R. Deka, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the review petitioners has argued that the review petition arises out of the common order dated 27.09.2022 passed in the connected writ petitions wherein, the Ministry of Jal Shakti was not made a party.

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Contending that the pending bills could not be cleared by the State of Assam due to non-receipt of the share of contribution coming from the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Union of India, Ms. R. Deka, the learned counsel for the review petitioners

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submits that these writ petitions are required to be heard afresh after serving notice upon the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Ms. R. Deka, the learned counsel for the review petitioners has, however, candidly submitted that the order dated 27.09.2022 passed by this Court even in respect of those writ petitions where the Ministry of Jal Shakti was impleaded as party, has not been complied with till today.

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Be that as it may, this Court finds that by the order dated 27.09.2022 direction was also issued to the Ministry of Jal Shakti to release the amount due under the scheme. The Ministry of Jal Shakti was duly represented by Mr. R. K. Dev Choudhury, learned Deputy Solicitor General of India but no objection was raised by the learned counsel for the respondents on the ground of nonjoinder of necessary party. Moreover, the said Ministry has also not sought any review of the order.

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It was for the petitioners to implead the Ministry of Jal Shakti and if they had failed to do so resulting in a situation where the order dated 27.09.2022 cannot be implemented on technical grounds, even then, it would be for the writ petitioners to face the consequences. The same cannot, however, be a ground for this Court to review/ recall the order dated 27.09.2022, which was passed by this Court after hearing the learned counsel for the parties including the Deputy Solicitor

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General of India representing the Ministry of Jal Shakti in the Union of India as well as the Brahmaputra Board.

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