HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD ?Court No. - 44 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. WRIT PETITION No. - 15443 of 2015 Petitioner :- Sunder Kushwaha Respondent :- State Of U.P.And 2 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Nanhe Lal Tripathi Counsel for Respondent :- Govt.Advocate Hon'ble Shashi Kant,J.
Heard Sri Nanhe Lal Tripathi, learned counsel for petitioner and learned AGA for the State.
This writ petition is inter alia directed against order dated 27.04.2015, passed by respondent no. 3, Additional District Magistrate, Lalitpur in Case No.102/2014, under Section 6 U.P. Control of Gundas Act, P.S. Kotwali, District Lalitpur.
Proceedings under Section 3(3) of the Act were initiated against petitioner on the basis of criminal cases mentioned in paragraph-3 of the writ petition. However, the Additional District Magistrate vide order dated 27.04.2015, passed an order of externment under Section 6 of the Act for a period of four months from the date of order. The petitioner preferred an appeal before the Commissioner, which came to be admitted on 22.05.2015, but the accompanying stay application was rejected.
Learned counsel for petitioner submitted that the Commissioner ought to have stayed the operation of externment order passed by the Addl. District Magistrate while admitting the appeal, else the purpose of filing an appeal would be frustrated.
Learned A.G.A submits that petition be disposed of by giving appropriate directions to the appellate authority.
It is well settled that once an appeal is admitted for hearing, operation of order impugned before it, if it has serious/drastic consequences, is liable to be stayed. On the one hand, the Commissioner on 22.05.2015, admitted the appeal for hearing and summoned the records, but by the same stroke he rejected the stay application on 22.05.2015. The resultant situation is that even though appeal is slated for hearing before the appellate authority, a damocles sword is hanging over the petitioner on account of absence of any interim order during the pendency of the appeal, which is in teeth of law.
No useful purpose would be served by keeping this petition pending in view of the order, which the Court proposes to pass hereunder:-
The writ petition is disposed of with the direction to the Appellate Authority to decide the pending appeal, as expeditiously as possible, preferably within two months from the date of production of certified copy of the order, but till the disposal of the appeal, the order of externment dated 27.04.2015, shall remain stayed. Learned counsel for petitioner undertakes not to seek any adjournment.
Order Date :- 2.7.2015 Monika