Decide staff's pleas in time or pay, HC warns officers
Saurabh Malik
Chandigarh, April 4
In its stern message to government functionaries dillydallying decisions on legal notices or representations by the employees in service matters, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked them to “either decide the pleas within the specified timeframe or pay from their pocket”.
“Without commenting on merits of the case, the present petition is disposed with a direction to official respondents to decide the legal notice of the petitioners within a period of two months from the date of receipt of the certified copy of this order, in accordance with law and convey the decision to the petitioners. In case of failure to do so, the officer responsible for the lapse would be liable to costs of Rs 20,000 from his pocket to be deposited with the Punjab and Haryana High Court Advocates’ Welfare Fund,” Justice Jaishree Thakur ruled.
Petition Disposed of
Without commenting on merits of the case, the present petition is disposed with a direction to official respondents to decide the legal notice of the petitioners within two months. —Justice Jaishree Thakur, Punjab and Haryana High Court
The orders by Justice Thakur in two different matters — directed at ensuring timely compliance of the orders and preventing multiplicity of litigation — are significant as the High Court is flooded with cases where the authorities do not take a decision on the representations in the first instance, despite judicial orders and inordinate delay.
As a result, the petitioners are compelled to move the court again for initiating the contempt of court proceedings against the authorities concerned. The petitions are at times disposed of by the Bench after recording an undertaking from the respondents that a decision will be taken on the pleas.
In case of an unfavourable decision, the petitioners are compelled to move the court again. The process may take months, if not years. The directions are significant as costs, otherwise also, are ordinarily imposed after taking cognizance of non-compliance of the court orders following the expiry of the prescribed period.
In one of the petitions before Justice Thakur’s Bench against the State of Punjab and other respondents, Jaswinder Singh and other petitioners were seeking directions to step up their pay at par with a junior. Justice Thakur, during the course of hearing, was told that a legal notice dated October 21, 2021, was given by the petitioners to the official respondents. But a decision had yet not been taken.
The state counsel, on the other hand, accepted on the respondents’ behalf the notice issued by Justice Thakur’s Bench before submitting that the official respondents would look into the matter and take a decision on the legal notice.
