Satya Narayan Verma vs State of Rajasthan and Others <BR> Suo Motu Vs The Registrar, Board of Revenue

Dinesh Maheshwari

These two co-related matters (CWP No. 5345/2011 and CCP No. 375/2011) have been considered together; and are taken up for disposal by this common order. Though the petitioner has filed an application (IA No. 4238/2012) in the writ petition seeking permission to withdraw for his grievance relating to transfer/posting no longer subsisting but, the connected contempt petition having been registered on the cognizance suo motu taken by the Court in view of the grounds earlier urged by the petitioner, appropriate it shall be to refer to the relevant background aspects.

The petitioner, serving on the post of Naib Tehsildar, was posted at Tinwari, District Jodhpur when a transfer order came to be issued by the Board of Revenue, Rajasthan, Ajmer on 06.01.2011 whereby, the respondent No. 4 Shri Gopal Parihar was posted at Tinwari; and though the name of the petitioner was not mentioned in the said order dated 06.01.2011, he was yet directed to report to the office of the Collector concerned.

Aggrieved of the said order dated 06.01.2011, the petitioner preferred a writ petition (CWP No. 398/2011) wherein, by way of an interim order dated 14.01.2011, this Court ordered that pursuant to the impugned transfer order dated 06.01.2011, the petitioner would not be relieved from the place he was working. During the pendency of the said writ petition (CWP No. 398/2011), an order came to be issued by the respondents transferring the respondent No. 4 Shri Gopal Parihar as Naib Tehsildar, Urban Improvement Trust, Ajmer; and, accordingly, it was submitted before the Court on behalf of the respondents that they were not going to disturb the petitioner who was working as Naib Tehsildar, Tinwari. On the submissions so made, this Court considered the said writ petition as filed by the present petitioner infructuous and disposed it of by the order dated 29.03.2011 while giving liberty to the respondents to transfer the petitioner in accordance with law, in case administrative exigencies so required. Only a few months thereafter, the order impugned in this writ petition came to be issued by the Registrar, Board of Revenue, Rajasthan, Ajmer on 07.06.2011 whereby the petitioner was transferred to Udaipur District and the respondent No. 4 was, again, posted at Tinwari.

The petitioner has questioned the said order dated 07.06.2011 in the present this writ petition. This petition was considered on 22.07.2011 and the submissions on behalf of the petitioner were noticed that the Registrar, Board of Revenue had passed the impugned order rather contrary to the undertaking given in this Court in CWP No. 398/2011. Though the Court did not consider it proper to pass any interim order when it was given out that the respondent No. 4 had already joined on the post of Naib Tehsildar, Tinwari but, while issuing notices in the writ petition, it was also ordered that a notice be issued to the Registrar, Board of Revenue to show cause as to why he should not be punished for contempt of Court. The contempt petition (No.375/2011) has been registered on the directions so issued in the order dated 22.07.2011.

The respondents have filed the replies to the writ petition and so also to the notice issued in the contempt petition. It is, inter alia, submitted that the statement was made before the Court in the earlier writ petition on the basis of the position of the record as obtaining at the given stage. It is also pointed out that with reference to certain complaints received, the Government in its Revenue Department ordered that the petitioner be transferred to Udaipur District after obtaining relaxation from the General Administrative Department. It is submitted that for better administrative governance, the answering respondent proceeded to comply with the order of the Government and passed the impugned order dated 07.06.2011. It is also submitted that in the order dated 29.03.2011, the Court had given the liberty to the respondents for transferring the petitioner, if administrative exigencies so required.

The petitioner has now moved the application (IA No. 4238/2012) in the writ petition seeking permission to withdraw while submitting that during the pendency of this petition, the respondent authority has further passed a transfer order whereby he has been transferred to the post of Naib Tehsildar, Bherunda, District Nagaur on 12.08.2011; and in view of the above, the petitioner wish to join the service in District Nagaur and does not want to proceed with this writ petition any further.

Having regard to the submissions so made and in the totality of circumstances, it appears just and proper to grant the prayer as made by the petitioner.

Accordingly, the petitioner is permitted to withdraw and the writ petition is dismissed as withdrawn.

So far the contempt petition is concerned, after having taken into comprehension all the facts, the background aspects, the contents of the order dated 29.03.2011, and the explanation as stated by the respondent, this Court is satisfied that there had not been any disobedience of the order passed by the Court nor it had been a case of contumacious conduct on the part of the Registrar, Board of Revenue, Rajasthan, Ajmer. Accordingly, notices are discharged and the contempt petition stands dismissed.