Baldev Singh Vs State of Punjab and Others

The petitioner-senior citize n has approached this Court, by way of instant writ petition, as cast under Articles 226/227 of t he Constitut i on of India, against an order d ated 04.08.2022 (Annexure P- 6 ), vide whi c h, an application preferred b y him, under Section 23 of t he Maintena n ce and Welfare of Parents an d Senior Citizens Act, 2007, ( t he Act of 2007), was dismissed by the learn e d Maintenance Tribunal. Further, the order dated 10.05.2023 (Annexure P -1), is also assailed, whereby, an appeal pr e ferred by him against the orde r (supra), has also been dismis s ed by the le a rned Additional Deputy Commissioner, Jagraon.

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At the outset, learned St a te counsel points out that t he impugne d order dated 10.05.2023 (Ann e xure P-1), has been passed by an authority devoid of statutory jurisdiction. In this regard, he draws attention of this C ourt towards the Punjab G overnment Notification beari No. 8/1 0 /2008-8SS/542 dated 15.07.2 0 08, and in exercise of pow e rs conferre d under Sections 7(1)&(2) and 1 5(1)&(2) of the Act of 2007, t he Governo r of Punjab constituted the M aintenance Tribunals/Appell a te Tribunals, and their jurisdictions for the i m plementation of the Act of 20 0 7, are as un d er:-

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AMIT KUMAR 2026.04.24 15:33 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document

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CWP-16955-2023 (O&M) -2-

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Sr. No.	N ame of the Tribunal	Jurisdiction	Presiding Officer of the Tribunal
1.	M aintenance Tribunal	Sub Divisio District con n of the cerned	Sub Divisional Magistrate of the area concerned
2.	A ppellate Tribunal	District con cerned	District Magistrate of the area concerned

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Consequently, it is submitt e d that since the appellate orde r has not b e en passed by the statutory auth o rity, i.e. District Magistrate, bu t by an au t hority exercising sub-delegated powers, i.e. Additional Deput y Commiss i oner, the same, indeed, requ i res interference of this Court . Moreove r , he also refers to the instructi o ns dated 27.10.2025, issued b y the Dire c torate Social Security and W omen & Child Development , Punjab, w herethrough, it has been categ o rically clarified that the Distric t Magistra t es/Presiding Officers of the A ppellate Tribunals constitute d under th e Act of 2007 are not authori z ed to sub-delegate their quasi - judicial f unctions and powers to any subordinate or other officer , irrespecti v e of rank or competence. The relevant portion of th e instructio n s is extracted hereunder:-

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“ To

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All District Magistra t es/Presiding Officers, Appellat e Tribunal Constituted u n der Sections 15(1) & 15(2) of Th e Maintenance and Welf a re of Parents and Senior Citizen s Act, 2007. No. P-3(SS)/2025/8218 9 Dated, Chandigarh 27- 1 0-2025

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Sub: Implementation of the H on'ble High Court Order date d 26.09.2025 in CWP No. 278 6 6 of 2025 - Davinder Singh vs. Additional District Magistrate & Others.

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In continuation of th i s Department's Notification No. 8/10/2008-8SS/798 dated 27t h August 2008, (Flag-A) whereb y the District Magistrates were d esignated as Presiding Officers o f the Appellate Tribunals constituted under The Maintenance an d Welfare of Parents and Seni o r Citizens Act, 2007, attention i s invited to the recent directions issued by the Hon'ble Punjab an d Haryana High Court, Chandi g arh, in CWP No. 27866 of 2025 -

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AMIT KUMAR 2026.04.24 15:33 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document

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CWP-16955-2023 (O&M) -3-

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Davinder Singh vs. Addition a l District Magistrate & Other s decided on 26.09.2025. (Flag- B )

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2. The Hon'ble Court ha s categorically clarified that th e District Magistrates/Presidi n g Officers of the Appellat e Tribunals constituted under t h e said Act are not authorized t o sub-delegate their quasi-judi c ial functions and powers to an y subordinate or other officer, ir r espective of rank or competence. 3. Pursuant to the said j u dgment, the Office of the Worth y Chief Secretary to Gover n ment of Punjab, vide lette r No.OSD(L)/CS/2025/6470899 7 dated 09.10.2025, (Flag-C) ha s directed that the above orde r be circulated to all concerne d authorities for meticulous com p liance.(Copy enclosed along wit h Hon'ble Court orders).

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4. It is, therefore, reque s ted to ensure strict and promp t compliance with the aforesai d directions of the Hon'ble Hig h Court and the Chief Secretary 's Office. It may further be ensure d that a copy of these orders i s circulated to all Sub-Divisiona l Magistrates under your juris d iction for necessary action an d adherence.

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5. Non-compliance may a ttract adverse observations fro m the Hon'ble Court; therefore, the matter may be treated as To p Priority.

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Encls. As above.”

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In response, learned counse l for the petitioner, though join s issues on merits, but is not in a position to wriggle out of the abovesai d factual as p ect, being a matter of record. 5. In view of the abovesaid co n ceded position, the order date d 10.05.20 2 3 (Annexure P-1), does not pa s s the test of legality, and thus , the same is set aside, being Delegata Potestas Non Potest Delegar . Consequ e ntly, the matter is remitted t o the District Magistrate-cum - Appellat e Tribunal concerned, for adjudication afresh, in the light of th e abovesai d notifications. Both the parties a re directed to cause appearanc e before t h e District Magistrate-cum-Ap p ellate Tribunal concerned, o n 18.05.20 2 6 at 11:00 AM, whereupon, th e latter shall make an endeavou r

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AMIT KUMAR 2026.04.24 15:33 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document

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CWP-16955-2023 (O&M) -4-

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to decid e the matter preferably withi n four months, after affordin g adequate opportunity of hearing to the pa r ties. It is made clear that, in th e meanwhi l e, no third party rights shall be created as regards the propert y in questi o n.

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To ensure speedy dispos a l of the matter, the learne d Addition a l Deputy Commissioner-cum- C ollector, Jagraon, is directed t o transmit t he original record of the matte r to the District Magistrate-cum - Appellat e Tribunal concerned, in terms o f the Act of 2007, upon receip t of a certi f ied copy of this order, forthwith. 7. Disposed of, accordingly.

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23.04.2026 Ak Sharma

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	(KULDEEP TIWARI) JUDGE
Whether speaking/reasoned	Yes
Whether reportable	Yes/No

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AMIT KUMAR 2026.04.24 15:33 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document

Baldev Singh v. State of Punjab and Others

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Baldev Singh v. State of Punjab and Others

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