New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Thursday granted six PWD officials the liberty to approach the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) against issuance of show cause notices to them over alleged “gross violation” of rules in the renovation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s official residence.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula disposed of an appeal by the Delhi government’s Directorate of Vigilance and Special Secretary (Vigilance) challenging a single judge bench order of no coercive action against the PWD officials who were issued show cause notices.
The high court relied on a judgment of the constitution bench of the Supreme Court and said it is very clear that in respect of a service dispute, an application has to be preferred under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act at the first instance.
Therefore, the writ petition by the PWD officials before the single judge was not at all maintainable and it should have been dismissed at the threshold, the division bench said.
It said, “The fact remains that the Constitution bench has arrived at a conclusion that the tribunals will continue to act like courts of first instance in respect of the areas of law for which they have been constituted. It is not, therefore, open for litigants to directly approach the high courts even in cases where they question the vires of statutory legislations (except where the legislation which creates that particular tribunal is challenged) by overlooking the jurisdiction of the tribunal concerned.”
The division bench disposed of the petition pending before the single judge and granted liberty to the six PWD officials to approach the CAT by filing an Original Application under the Administrative Tribunals Act.
“It is made clear that this court has not observed anything on merits, except the issue of maintainability of the writ petition in the LPA. With
the aforesaid observations, the present LPA stands disposed of,” it said.
An appeal by a petitioner against a decision of a single judge before a different bench of the same court is known as Letter Patents Appeal (LPA).
The Directorate of Vigilance, in its appeal, sought setting aside of a September 15 interim order of a single judge of the high court which
said no coercive steps shall be taken by any authority against the petitioner PWD officials till October 12. The appellants raised a preliminary objection, saying the writ petition was not at all maintainable as the officials are central government employees and for the challenge in respect of disciplinary action, they have to approach the CAT.