The Union Of INDIA vs. Shri B.Raja Ambedkar
Held
The Court held that the writ petition had become infructuous. The petitioner's counsel placed on record an Office Order No.104 of 2022, indicating the respondent's transfer from Ranchi GST & CX Zone to Bhubaneshwar GST & CX Zone, with a direction to join by 03.10.2022. It was further submitted that the respondent had complied with this order and joined at Bhubaneshwar. Based on this submission, the Court concluded that there was nothing left for adjudication in the writ petition. The reasoning is that the subsequent events, namely the transfer and joining at a new location, have resolved the underlying issue that necessitated the writ petition, rendering the challenge to the CAT's order moot. The operative direction was to close the writ petition. No specific issue was left undecided.
Facts
The petitioner, the Union of India, filed a writ petition challenging an order dated 31.03.2022 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Hyderabad Bench, in OA.No.822 of 2021. The CAT's order concerned the transfer of the respondent, an employee, from Ranchi GST & CX Zone. This Court had previously passed an interim order on 03.08.2022, directing the respondent to join at Ranchi within two weeks and then make a representation for posting in Bangalore, Bhubaneshwar, or Chennai, which the authorities were to consider. Subsequently, the petitioner informed the Court that the respondent had been transferred from Ranchi to Bhubaneshwar GST & CX Zone, with a joining date of 03.10.2022, and that the respondent had indeed joined at the new location. In light of this development, the petitioner submitted that nothing further remained for adjudication in the writ petition.
Key Issues
1. Whether the writ petition has become infructuous due to the subsequent transfer and joining of the respondent at a new location, thereby rendering the challenge to the CAT's order moot? Petitioner's contention: The petitioner argued that since the respondent has been transferred to Bhubaneshwar GST & CX Zone and has joined there, the original grievance addressed by the CAT's order and the subsequent interim order of this Court is no longer relevant. Therefore, the writ petition should be closed as nothing survives for adjudication. Respondent's contention: The judgment does not record any specific contentions made by the respondent at the time of the final hearing. However, the interim order suggests the respondent had expressed difficulties regarding their posting, implying a desire for a specific zone. The respondent's joining at Bhubaneshwar indicates compliance with the Court's interim directions and the subsequent transfer order.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE M. GANGA RAO AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE V. SRINIVAS W.P.No.17535 of 2022 ORDER: [per Hon’ble Sri Justice M. Ganga Rao]
The present writ petition came to be filed challenging the order dated 31.03.2022, passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad Bench in OA.No.822 of 2021. This Court, after hearing both the sides, passed an interim order dated 03.08.2022. The operative portion of the said order reads as under: “Applicant-respondent herein shall join at Ranchi, within a period of two weeks from today, and, within a period of one week thereafter, he is entitled to make a representation to the authorities for posting him in the Zones of Bangalore, Bhubanesvar or Chennai and the same shall be considered by the authorities keeping in view the difficulties expressed by the respondent-applicant in his representation, dated 14.06.2021, and pass appropriate orders, within a period of three weeks thereafter.” When the writ petition is taken up for hearing, learned counsel for the petitioner placed on record a copy of the Office Order No.104 of 2022 issued by the Under Secretary to the Government of India, and submits that the re
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