Dismissed

Kedar Dutt v. State of Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand HC7 Jun 2021WPSS/578/2021

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court dismissed a writ petition challenging a re-determined seniority list. The Court held that despite a previous directive to determine seniority, the petitioner retains the remedy of approaching the Public Service Tribunal for merit-based challenges dependent on the applicability of specific service rules.

What did the court decide?

The writ petition is dismissed; liberty is granted to the petitioner to approach the Public Service Tribunal for a challenge to the seniority list.

Kedar Dutt Vs State of Uttarakhand — Pension and Retirement Benefits | Uttarakhand HC (2021)

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HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL

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Writ Petition (S/S) No. 578 of 2021

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Kedar Dutt

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… Petitioner

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Vs. State of Uttarakhand and others … Respondents

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Advocates : Mr. Vinay Kumar, Advocate, for the petitioner. Mr. P.C. Bisht, Addl. CSC, for the State of Uttarakhand.

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Hon’ble Sharad Kumar Sharma, J.

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(Via Video Conferencing)

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The issue pertaining to the determination of interse seniority amongst the officers of the cooperative society, a final seniority list with regard to Cooperative Inspector Grade-2 Officers/Assistant Development Officer (Cooperative), came up for consideration in couple of writ petitions before this Court with the leading writ petition being Writ Petition (S/S) No. 1687 of 2019, Anand Singh and others Vs. State of Uttarakhand and others .

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2. The coordinate Bench of this Court, by an elaborate judgment, which was rendered on 26.11.2020, while allowing the writ petition and quashing the final seniority list of the Cooperative Inspector2/Assistant Development Officer (Cooperative) dated 12.09.2016, had issued a writ of mandamus to respondent Nos. 1 to 4, therein in the writ petition to decide the interse seniority afresh, qua the direct recruits and the promotes, in the aforesaid cadre of employees in accordance with the Rules 8 and 9 of the Uttarakhand Government Servant Seniority Rules 2002, which was said to be made applicable, governing the service conditions of the petitioner as per the Cooperative Service Rules 2003. In compliance thereto, the judgment dated 26.11.2020, the respondent had re-determined the seniority of the petitioners by virtue of the impugned order dated 24.03.2021, which is being put to challenge by the petitioner before this Court.

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3. As far this Court is concerned, the directions given by the coordinate Bench of this Court on 26.11.2020, while entering into the

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merits of the matter the challenge given to the final seniority list therein, will not grant an immunity to the petitioner for all times to come to approach to the writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, where the question of determination of seniority interse depends upon the applicability of the Cooperative Service Rules, 2003 and the coordinated applicability of Uttarakhand Government Servant Seniority Rules, 2002.

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4. The aspect of seniority requires a determination of number of factual aspects and hence statutorily the petitioner would have a remedy to approach before the Public Service Tribunal, to agitate his grievance as against the impugned seniority list, which is now put to challenge, before this Court. In view of an availability of an appropriate forum to the petitioner, as against the impugned order dated 24.03.2021, as passed by the Registrar, Cooperative Society, whereby the final seniority list of the Inspector Grade-II/Assistant Development Officer (Cooperative), has been put to challenge, the petitioner has remedy of approaching the Public Services Tribunal by filing an O.A.

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5. On that count itself, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the matter, the writ petition is dismissed, with liberty open to the petitioner to approach before the Public Service Tribunal for giving challenge to the impugned seniority list dated 24.03.2021.

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(Sharad Kumar Sharma, J.) 07.06.2021

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Mahinder/

Kedar Dutt v. State of Uttarakhand

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Kedar Dutt v. State of Uttarakhand

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

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