Jaideep Jha vs State Of Chhattisgarh
2025 Latest Caselaw 2887 Chatt

Chattisgarh High Court

Jaideep Jha vs State Of Chhattisgarh on 22 August, 2025

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V PADMAVATHI
Date: 2025.08.25
11:04:55 +0530




                                                                                                     NAFR
                                  HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR
                                                      WPS No. 8854 of 2025

                      Jaideep Jha S/o Lt. Shri K. D. Jha Aged About 65 Years (Retired Assistant Forest
                      Conservator) R/o Kanhaiyapuri, Subhash Nagar Durg, District- Durg, C.G.
                                                                                              ... Petitioner(s)

                                                                  versus

                      1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through - Secretary, Department Of Forest And Climate Change,
                      Mantralay Mahanadi Bhavan Naya Raipur, C.G.

                      2 - Principal Chief Conservator Of Forest And Head Of Forest Force Aranya Bhavan, Naya
                      Raipur, C.G.

                      3 - Chief Conservator Of Forest Raipur Circle Boranda Vidhan Sabha Road Raipur, C.G.

                                                                                               ...Respondents

(Cause-title is taken from the CIS)

Order Sheet

22.08.2025 Shri Rakesh Kumar Thakur, counsel for the petitioner.

Shri Vinay Pandey, Dy AG for the State.

Learned counsel for the State prays for and is granted four weeks'

time to file reply in the matter.

Heard on IA- 1 of 2025, application for grant of interim relief/stay.

Learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that petitioner is

retired from the post of Deputy Forest Surveyor on 30.04.2021, and after Wps 8854 of 2025

about four years of his retirement, charge-sheet has been served upon him

on 02.12.2024, initiating Departmental Enquiry (DE) against the petitioner,

alleging that while he was in service, certain financial irregularities were

committed by him. He would further submit that the alleged incident is

prior to more than four years, and as per Rule 9 B(ii) of the Chhattisgarh

Civil Services Pension rules, 1976, no DE can be initiated which is alleged

to be more than four years prior to issuance of the charge-sheet. He

would also submit that he could file relevant vouchers obtained by the

department, which clearly shows that the alleged incident is prior to more

than four years, from issuance of charge-sheet to the petitioner, therefore,

the charge-sheet itself is bad in law. Learned counsel relies upon the

judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the matter of Punjab State Power

Corporation Ltd., Patiala and others Vs Atma Singh Grewal, (2014) 13

SCC 666, in support of his submission.

Considering the submissions of learned counsel for the petitioner,

purely as an interim measure, further proceeding pursuant to charge-sheet

dated 02.12.2024 issued by the respondent department shall remain

stayed till the next date of hearing.

List this case after four weeks.

Sd/-

(Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) JUDGE

padma