Jagdish Prasad Bhatt VsState Of Uttarakhand And Others

Ramesh Ranganathan, CJ

Heard Sri A.S. Rawat, learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner and Sri B.S. Parihar, learned Standing Counsel for the State of Uttarakhand and, with their consent, this writ petition is being disposed of at the stage of admission.

The petitioner has invoked the jurisdiction of this Court seeking a writ of mandamus directing the Director, Medical Education, Uttarakhand, Dehradun to release his salary from December, 2018 till date, as per the directions of the Secretary, Finance, Government of Uttarakhand, Secretariat, Dehradun dated 11.02.2019; and a mandamus directing the fourth and the fifth respondents to release the salary of the petitioner, month to month, till his posting in the respondent-Department as per law.

Facts, to the limited extent necessary, are that the petitioner was posted in the Directorate of Medical Education as an Assistant Accounts Officer. By proceedings dated 24.04.2015, he was transferred, to a similar post, in the office of District Project Director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Pithoragarh. On the petitioner's representation, the transfer order is said to have been kept in abeyance. Thereafter the petitioner was repatriated, by order dated 07.12.2018, from the Medical Education Directorate to the Directorate of Departmental Accounts (Audit). Aggrieved thereby, the petitioner filed Writ Petition (S/B) No. 23 of 2019, and a Division Bench of this Court, by its order dated 09.01.2019, disposed of the writ petition recording that the petitioner had, admittedly, no grievance against his repatriation back to the Department of Directorate of Development Audit, Dehradun. The Division Bench made it clear that, since the petitioner had been repatriated under the impugned order to his parent Department, the earlier order dated 24.04.2015, transferring him to Pithoragarh, would no longer survive.

Even after the writ petition was disposed of by order dated 9.01.2019, the petitioner has not joined the Department of Directorate of Development Audit, Dehradun, and continues to work as an Assistant Accounts Officer in the Medical Education Directorate at Dehradun.

Sri A.S. Rawat, learned Senior Counsel, would submit that the Secretary, Finance, by his letter dated 11.02.2019, had informed the Secretary, Medical Education, Uttarakhand that, in accordance with the order passed by this Court on 09.01.2019, the petitioner has rejoined duty at the Directorate of Medical Education, Dehradun on 23.01.2019; and that initiation of further proceedings, regarding release of the salary, be ensured by sanctioning leave for the said period as per law, in compliance with the order of the High Court dated 09.01.2019.

The understanding of the Finance Secretary of the order of the Division Bench dated 09.01.2019 is, to put it mildly, at complete variance with the contents of the order. The said order of the Finance Secretary dated 11.02.2019 proceeds on the erroneous premise that the petitioner was justified in rejoining duty at the Directorate of Medical Education, Dehradun in view of the order passed by the Division Bench of this Court in Writ Petition (S/B) No. 23 of 2019 dated 19.01.2019. The order of the Division Bench, in Writ Petition (S/B) No. 23 of 2019 dated 19.01.2019, records that the petitioner had no objection to his repatriation, by proceedings dated 07.12.2018, to the post of Assistant Accounts Officer in the Department of Directorate of Development Audit, Dehradun. Yet, till date, the petitioner has chosen not to join the post to which he has been repatriated to, and still continues to work as an Assistant Accounts Officer in the Medical Education Directorate, Uttarakhand.

For the period, subsequent to his order of transfer / repatriation dated 07.12.2018, non-payment of salary to the petitioner is because of his own fault in not joining, the Department of Directorate of Development Audit, till date.

As the complaint of the petitioner, in the present writ petition, relates to non-payment of salary for the period from December, 2018 to February, 2019, and it does appear that non-payment of salary was only because the petitioner did not comply with the order dated 07.12.2018, and did not join the Department of Directorate of Development Audit, Dehradun, suffice it to dispose of the writ petition directing the respondents to consider payment of salary to the petitioner, for the period from 07.12.2018 till the date on which he joins the Department of Directorate of Development Audit, Dehradun, after he complies with the order dated 07.12.2018, and joins duty at the Department of Directorate of Development Audit, Dehradun.

While we suspect that our order in Writ Petition (S/B) No. 23 of 2019 dated 09.01.2019 was misconstrued by the Finance Secretary, in his letter dated 11.02.2019, to benefit the petitioner and enable him to continue to function in the Medical Education Directorate at Dehradun, though he had himself admitted before us that he had no objection to his repatriation to the Department of Directorate of Development Audit, we refrain from saying anything more as the Finance Secretary has not been heard in this regard. Suffice it to hold that, in case the petitioner does not join duty at the Department of Directorate of Development Audit, Dehradun forthwith, this order shall not disable the respondents from initiating such proceedings against him, as they consider necessary, in accordance with law.

Subject to the aforesaid observations, the writ petition fails and is, accordingly, dismissed. No costs.