Kedar Prasad Meena vs The State Of Rajasthan
2021 Latest Caselaw 15436 Raj

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 13403/2021

Kedar Prasad Meena S/o Sh. Badri Narayan, Aged About 41 Years, Tehsil Nangal Rajwatan, District Dausa (Raj.). At Present Working As Gram Vikas Adhikari, Gram Panchayat Bar, Tehsil Raipur, District Pali (Raj.).

----Petitioner Versus

1. The State Of Rajasthan, Through The Chief Executive Officer, Zila Parishad Pali, District Pali (Raj.)

2. Vikas Adhikari, Panchayat Samiti Raipur, Pali, District Pali.

3. Sh. Puran Singh Sankhla, Gram Vikas Adhikari, Gram Panchayat Bar, Tehsil Raipur, District Pali.

4. The Rajasthan Civil Services Appellate Tribunal, Circuit Bench, Jodhpur Through Its Registrar.

                                                                ----Respondents


For Petitioner(s)        :      Mr. H.S. Sidhu.
For Respondent(s)        :      Mr. D.S. Sodha.



           HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ARUN BHANSALI

                                    Order

05/10/2021

This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner aggrieved

against the order dated 10.09.2021 (Annex.P6) passed by

Rajasthan Civil Services Appellate Tribunal, Circuit Bench, Jodhpur

('the Tribunal'), whereby, the appeal filed by the respondent No.3

has been allowed and the order dated 13.08.2021 has been

quashed.

It is, inter-alia, submitted by learned counsel for the

petitioner that the issue raised in the present writ petition

pertaining to the Tribunal accepting the appeal without even

(2 of 3) [CW-13403/2021]

issuing the notice to the petitioner, stands squarely covered by

judgment of this Court in Assistant Engineer, Sub Division-II,

Water Course Division-II, IGNP, Jaisalmer v. Rajasthan Civil

Services Appellate Tribunal, Jaipur & Ors.: S.B. Civil Writ Petition

No.17772/2018, decided on 27.11.2018. Therefore, the present

writ petition also deserves to be allowed in light of the said order.

Learned counsel for the respondent No.3 made submissions

that subsequent to the passing of the order another order has

been passed, whereby, the original order dated 13.08.2021 has

been cancelled and, therefore, the petitioner is not entitled to any

relief, however, it is not disputed that the Tribunal has passed the

order ex-parte without issuing the notices.

I have considered the submissions made by learned counsel

for the parties and have perused the material available on record.

This Court in the case of Assistant Engineer (supra), inter-

alia laid down as under :-

"A perusal of the order dated 24.08.2018 (Annexure-6) indicates that the Tribunal heard the appeal by making a mention of Section 4A of the Rajasthan Civil Services (Service Matters Appellate Tribunal) Act, 1976 ('the Act') and without issuing notices to the respondents named in the appeal, by merely noticing the contentions raised by respondent No. 2 - Hanuman Singh and accepting the same has allowed the appeal.

The provisions of Section 4A of the Act merely provides for non admission of appeal unless other remedies exhausted. Further under Rajasthan Civil Services (Service Matters Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 1976 ('the Rules'), Rule 17 provides for admissibility of the appeal and unless the appeal is dismissed/rejected at the stage of admission, under Rule 19 of the Rules, summons in Form No. 2 are required to be issued to the respondents named in the appeal. The Rules do not envisage decision on the appeal, on the first date without even ordering for issuance of notices/summons to the respondents except dismissal/rejection in limine. The procedure adopted by the Tribunal in accepting the appeal without even issuing notices/hearing the respondents is clearly in violation of the Rules and settled practice, wherein, the appellate authority is bound to hear the respondents before deciding the appeal on merit. The situation may be different where once the notices are issued and despite service the respondents do not appear, which is not the case in the present matter.

(3 of 3) [CW-13403/2021]

In view thereof, passing of the order by the Tribunal without even issuing notice to the respondents cannot be approved. The writ petition filed by the petitioner therefore, deserves to be allowed on this count alone without going into merits of the cntentions raised by either of the parties."

Admittedly, in the present case, while passing the order

dated 10.09.2021, no notice was issued by the Tribunal and

straightway the appeal was allowed and therefore, the order

cannot be sustained in light of the judgment in the case of

Assistant Engineer (supra).

So far as the submissions made by learned counsel for the

respondent that as another order has been passed, whereby, the

original order dated 13.08.2021 has been cancelled, the petitioner

is not entitled to any relief, is concerned, the same has no

substance, inasmuch as, once the order dated 13.08.2021 came

to be quashed by the Tribunal, there remained nothing of the

respondent to again cancel the said order.

Consequently, the writ petition filed by the petitioner is

allowed. The order dated 10.09.2021 passed by the Tribunal is

quashed and set-aside. The matter is remanded back to the

Tribunal, who shall redecide the matter in accordance with law

after taking a reply from petitioner herein. The parties shall

appear before the Tribunal as and when Circuit Bench meets at

Jodhpur. The Tribunal is directed to decide the appeal most

expeditiously.

(ARUN BHANSALI),J

145-pradeep/-

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