Rakesh Kumar Jena vs. State Of Odisha

Facts

The Petitioner, Rakesh Kumar Jena, filed a writ petition before the High Court of Orissa at Cuttack. The petition was connected to and had common issues with another writ petition, W.P.(C) No.14924 of 2020. The Court decided to dispose of the present writ petition in terms of the judgment delivered in W.P.(C) No.14924 of 2020 on the same date, 7th June, 2021. Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, the parties were permitted to use a printout of the order from the High Court's website as a valid substitute for a certified copy, subject to specific attestation requirements.

Held

The Court held that the present writ petition (W.P.(C) No.2904 of 2021) should be disposed of in terms of the judgment rendered in W.P.(C) No.14924 of 2020 on 7th June, 2021. This decision was based on the finding that the issues in both petitions were connected and common. The reasoning is procedural, aiming for consistency and efficiency by applying the outcome of a related case. The ratio decidendi is that when issues in multiple writ petitions are identical and connected, the Court may dispose of subsequent petitions by following the judgment delivered in the earlier, connected petition. The operative direction was to dispose of the writ petition in terms of the aforementioned judgment.

Key Issues

1. Whether the present writ petition should be disposed of in terms of the judgment passed in W.P.(C) No.14924 of 2020, given the commonality of issues. The Petitioner likely argued for relief based on the precedent set in the connected case. The State of Odisha and others (Opposite Parties) likely did not contest this procedural disposition, as the judgment indicates a common approach was taken. No specific arguments or reliance on provisions, circulars, or precedents by either side are recorded beyond the implicit agreement to follow the judgment in the connected case.