Ashok Kumar vs State Of Himachal Pradesh And Others

Sandeep Sharma, J

Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with office order dated 30.5.2015, (Annexure P-5) issued by respondent No.2, whereby petitioner has been ordered to be compulsorily retired from the post of Secretary, Gram Panchayat Ukhli, Development Block, Bhoranj, District Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, petitioner approached erstwhile Himachal Pradesh Administrative Tribunal by way of OA No. 1388 of 2015, which now stands transferred to this Court and re-registered - as CWPOA No. 5185 of 2019, praying therein for following main reliefs:

"(i) That the impugned office order dated 30-05-2015 i.e. Annexure A-5, issued by the respondent No.2, may very kindly be quashed and set aside."

Having heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record, this Court finds that the petitioner, without exhausting remedy of statutory appeal, has approached the court of law, as such, present petition is not maintainable in the first place. It is not in dispute that major penalty of compulsory retirement came to be imposed upon the petitioner by Disciplinary Authority i.e. Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chief Executive Officer, DRDA, Hamirpur, as such, petitioner being aggrieved, if any, ought to have filed appeal to the Secretary, Panchayati Raj Himachal Pradesh under Rule 3 of Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965.

Consequently, in view of above, learned Counsel appearing for the petitioner seeks permission to withdraw the present petition with liberty to file appeal before appropriate appellate authority, in accordance with law. Granted.

In view of above, present petition is dismissed as withdrawn alongwith all pending applications. Since the Original Application remained pending before erstwhile Himachal Pradesh Administrative Tribunal for around five years, plea of limitation will not come in the way of the petitioner, while seeking remedy of appeal, if any, if such appeal is filed within two weeks from today.

Since matter is hanging fire for five years, this Court hopes and trusts that the appropriate appellate authority, after filing of appeal, shall dispose of the same expeditiously, preferably within two months from the date of filing of such appeal. Further, since the petitioner is still working with the Department on the strength of order dated 10.6.2015 passed by erstwhile Himachal Pradesh Administrative Tribunal, in peculiar facts and circumstances, this Court deems it appropriate to order that till the disposal of appeal if any, filed by the petitioner, petitioner would continue to work in terms of order dated 10.6.2015 passed by erstwhile Himachal Pradesh Administrative Tribunal. However, in case, appeal is not filed within two weeks, interim protection granted to the petitioner shall stand vacated.

Copy Dasti.