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2022 Supreme(Chh) 49
HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH, BILASPUR
Arup Kumar Goswami, Narendra Kumar Vyas, JJ.
State of Chhattisgarh & Ors. – Appellants
Versus
Arun Kumar Sharma & Ors. – Respondents
WA No. 209, 210, 224, 223, 226, 221, 244, 229, 313, 320, 289, 325, 328, 343, 346, 364, 357, 358, 361, 362, 366, 367, 368, 369, 370, 371, 372, 373, 376, 391, 392, 393, 395, 396, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 416 of 2021, WPC No. 1580, 83, 2041, 2474, 4805 of 2021
Decided On : 25-01-2022
Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant :Mr. Satish Chandra Verma, Advocate General alongwith Mr. Jitendra Pali, Deputy Advocate General as well as Mr. Siddharth Dubey, Deputy Government Advocate.
For the Respondent: Mr. Upendra Nath Awasthy, Senior counsel alongwith Ms. Supriya Upasne
The subsequent notification repealing the Niyam, 2008 was an attempt to nullify the earlier judgment and was not clarificatory. The State's decision-making process for repealing the Niyam, 2008 was found to be arbitrary and without proper consideration.
Headnote:
Samman Nidhi - Challenge to Notifications dated 23.01.2020 and 29.07.2020 - [MISA/D.I.R. Rajnaitik Ya Samajik Karno Se Nirudha Vyakti] - [5 vxLr, 2008] - The court discussed the legality of the repeal of the Niyam, 2008 and the entitlement of the petitioners to the allowance. The court held that the subsequent notification repealing the Niyam, 2008 was an attempt to nullify the earlier judgment and was not clarificatory. The court also found that the State's decision-making process for repealing the Niyam, 2008 was arbitrary and without proper consideration. The court set aside the notifications and directed the State to continue payment of Samman Nidhi till a lawful decision is made on the Niyam, 2008.
Fact of the Case:
The State Government stopped the release of monetary allowance under the 'Samman Nidhi' scheme, leading to a number of writ petitions challenging the stoppage and subsequent repeal of the scheme. The court was tasked with determining the legality of the repeal and the entitlement of the petitioners to the allowance.
Finding of the Court:
The subsequent notification repealing the Niyam, 2008 was an attempt to nullify the earlier judgment and was not clarificatory. The State's decision-making process for repealing the Niyam, 2008 was found to be arbitrary and without proper consideration. The court set aside the notifications and directed the State to continue payment of Samman Nidhi till a lawful decision is made on the Niyam, 2008.
Issues: 1. Legality of the repeal of the Niyam, 2008. 2. Entitlement of the petitioners to the allowance.
Ratio Decidendi: The subsequent notification repealing the Niyam, 2008 was an attempt to nullify the earlier judgment and was not clarificatory. The State's decision-making process for repealing the Niyam, 2008 was found to be arbitrary and without proper consideration. The court set aside the notifications and directed the State to continue payment of Samman Nidhi till a lawful decision is made on the Niyam, 2008.
Final Decision: The Writ Appeals filed by the State were dismissed, and the Writ Petitions filed by the petitioners were partly allowed. The State Government was directed to continue payment of Samman Nidhi till a decision is taken in accordance with law as to whether the State intends to continue with Niyam, 2008 or not.
JUDGMENT :
Narendra Kumar Vyas, J.
1. This batch of writ appeals are preferred against the order dated 26.05.2020, passed in WPC No.152 of 2020 and the order dated 04.12.2020 passed in Review Petition No.146 of 2020 and other connected cases.
2. In WPC Nos. 1580 of 2021, 2041 of 2021 and 4805 of 2021, challenge is mounted to the Notifications dated 23.01.2020 and 29.07.2020, whereas, in WPC Nos. 83 of 2021 and 2474 of 2021, challenge is made only to the Notification dated 29.07.2020.
3. The State Government had framed rules styled as “Loknayak Jaiprakash Narayan (MISA/D.I.R. Rajnaitik Ya Samajik Karno Se Nirudha Vyakti) Samman Nidhi Niyam, 2008” (for short, ‘Niyam, 2008’) under which monetary allowance is granted to the persons who had undergone detention during the emergency period of 1975 – 1977.
4. While benefit of the aforesaid Niyam, 2008 was being granted ever since the Niyam, 2008 was brought into force, the State/respondents stopped release of allowance from January, 2019 onwards in view of an order dated 28.01.2019 issued by the General Administration Department, Government of Chhattisgarh.
5. Such stoppage of allowance gave rise to filing of a number of writ petitions. Challenge therein, primarily, was to the aforesaid order dated 28.01.2019 and in few cases, appropriate directions were sought for to the respondents to make payment of monetary allowance which were paid till January, 2019.
6. While the writ petitions were pending disposal, by Notification dated 23.01.2020, the State Government repealed the Niyam, 2008 with effect from 23.01.2020. However, the said Notification dated 23.01.2020 was not assailed either by amending the writ petitions or by independently assailing the same before disposal of the writ petitions, by order dated 26.05.2020.
7. The learned Single Judge, in that view of the matter, confined adjudication of the proceedings only to the extent as to whether the respondents in the writ petitions could have stopped the payment of allowance by order dated 28.01.2019 and as to whether the petitioners would be entitled to the allowance from the date it has been stopped till the Niyam, 2008 was repealed by Notification dated 23.01.2020.
8. The learned Single Judge, on perusal of the order dated 28.01.2019, opined that the said order did not intend to stop the payment to the ‘democratic fighters’, but the same was issued to make the process of payment of ‘Samman Nidhi’ in the financial year more effective, smooth and transparent and it is with that objective, the said order was passed.
9. On consideration of the materials on record, the learned Single Judge held that no scrutiny or further enquiry was made with regard to any of the petitioners and on the contrary, the Niyam, 2008 was repealed by Notification dated 23.01.2020. The learned Single Judge held that the order dated 28.01.2019 by which the State Government decided to withhold the monthly pension to the writ petitioners is not sustainable in law and accordingly, directed that payments for the period from January, 2019 to 23.01.2020 be made to each of the petitioners within a period of 90 days from the date of receipt of the order.
10. Initially, against the said order dated 26.05.2020 in respect of WPC No. 88 of 2020, a writ appeal was filed being W.A. No. 333 of 2020. The said writ appeal was disposed of on 24.08.2020 on permission being sought to withdraw the appeal by the learned Advocate General without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the Government to initiate appropriate proceedings before the learned Single Judge.
11. A perusal of the order dated 24.08.2020 would go to show that the contentions were advanced by the learned Advocate General that a clarificatory order was issued on 29.07.2020 providing that the Niyam, 2008 stood repealed from January, 2019 itself. Pursuant to withdrawal of the writ appeal, Review Petition No. 146 of 2020 was preferred, which came to be dismissed by order dated 04.12.2020.
12. As noted earlier, these Notific
