State Of Odisha vs Biswanath Mandinga ..... Opp. Party
2024 Latest Caselaw 15571 Ori

Orissa High Court

State Of Odisha vs Biswanath Mandinga ..... Opp. Party on 7 October, 2024

Bench: S.K. Sahoo, Chittaranjan Dash

              IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
                         W.P.(C) No.23758 of 2024

            1. State of Odisha
            2. Principal Secretary to
            Govt. of Odisha, Finance
            Department,
            Bhubaneswar
            3. Principal Chief
            Conservator of Forests,
            Odisha
            4. Divisional Forest
            Officer, Jeypore Forest
            Division, Jeypore,
            Koraput                            .....     Petitioners

                                         Mr. R.N. Mishra,
                                         Addl. Govt. Advocate
                                        -versus-
            Biswanath Mandinga                 .....   Opp. Party

                                         CORAM:
                 THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.K. SAHOO
            THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE CHITTARANJAN DASH

                                         ORDER

Order No. 07.10.2024

02. This matter is taken up through Hybrid arrangement (video conferencing/physical mode).

Heard Mr. R.N. Mishra, learned Additional Government Advocate for the petitioners.

The petitioners-State Authorities have filed this writ petition challenging the impugned order dated

07.01.2019 passed by the learned Odisha Administrative Tribunal, Bhubaneswar (for short, "the Tribunal") in O.A. No.44 of 2019 in allowing the Original Application filed by the opposite party and directing the petitioners to pay the opposite party Grade Pay of Rs.2,400/- towards 1st R.A.C.Ps. with effect from 01.01.2013, Grade Pay of Rs.4,600/- with corresponding Pay Band-2 towards second R.A.C.Ps. with effect from 01.01.2013 and to revise his pay as per resolution dated 06.02.2013 and to pay him accrued arrears.

The ground that has been taken by the petitioners in this writ petition is that the impugned order was passed by the learned Tribunal without affording any opportunity to the petitioners and disposing of the Original Application at the stage of admission.

On perusal of the impugned order, we find that the learned Standing Counsel was given opportunity of hearing and thereafter, the learned Tribunal after taking into account the ratio decided in O.A. No.520 of 2014 with batch and the judgment of this Court in W.P.(C) No.2831 of 2016, in O.A. No.65 of 2016 and batch and in O.A. No.2887 of 2018 filed by identically placed Forester/Deputy Forest Rangers as the opposite party had completed more than twenty years of service by 01.01.2013 in the same entry grade post i.e. Forester, allowed the Original Application. If in fact, learned

Standing Counsel was not heard but the impugned order reflected so, then it was open to the learned Standing Counsel to file an appropriate application to bring it to the notice of the Presiding Officer while the matter was still fresh to his mind that he was not heard and it was wrongly reflected in the impugned order that he was heard, but the same has not been done.

Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the order passed by this Court in similar matters is under challenge before the Hon'ble Supreme Court.

Be that as it may, since opportunity of hearing has been provided to the petitioners and thereafter, the impugned order has been passed way back in the year 2019 and in the meantime, five years have elapsed and there is no illegality or impropriety in the said order, we are not inclined to interfere with the same.

Accordingly, the writ petition being devoid of merits stands dismissed.

( S.K. Sahoo) Judge

(Chittaranjan Dash) Judge

I.A. No.12546 and 12547 of 2024

03. In view of the order passed today in W.P.(C)

No.23758 of 2024, both the I.As. stand disposed of.

( S.K. Sahoo) Judge

(Chittaranjan Dash) Judge sipun

Location: HIGH COURT OF ORISSA, CUTTACK Date: 08-Oct-2024 16:45:23