A show cause notice does not infringe an employee's rights, and judicial intervention at that stage is considered premature without exhausting available remedies.

ORDER :

1. This matter is taken up through Hybrid arrangement (video conferencing/physical mode).

This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner Sushant Bhusan Mohanty challenging the order dated 12.08.2025 passed by the learned Central Administrative Tribunal, Cuttack Bench, Cuttack (for short “Tribunal”) in O.A. No.366 of 2025 under Annexure-4 so also the order passed by the General Manager, Revising Authority dated 09.09.2025 under Annexure-6.

2. The Original Application was filed by the petitioner with a prayer for quashing the show cause notice no.SER/P-HQ/DAR/410/11/SBM/400 dated 23.07.2025 issue by the General Manager, S.E. Railway with a further direction to the opp. parties to assign duties to the petitioner.

3. The learned Tribunal at the admission stage itself came to hold as follows:

“3. We have considered the rival submissions of the parties and perused the record. After going through the provision under section 25 of the RS (D&A) Rules, 1968 there is no iota of doubt that the General Manager has every power and authority to review and order passed in disciplinary matters and before taking any decision ha has to give opportunity to the delinquent employee. Thus, we are not agreed to the submission that the General Manager cannot exercise the power to make successive review when in exercise of review, the authority concerned annulled the order of punishment imposed on the applicant. This apart, it is a well known principle that when a show cause notice is issued to a Govt. servant under a statutory provision calling upon him to show cause, the Govt. servant must place his case before the authority concerned by showing cause and the courts should be reluctant to interfere with the notice at that stage because the purpose of issuing show cause notice is to afford opportunity of hearing to the Govt. servant and once cause is shown it is open to the Govt. to consider the matter in the light of the facts and submissions placed by the Govt. servant and only thereafter a final decision in the matter could be taken. Interference by the Court before that stage would be premature because mere assertion that notice was without jurisdiction and/or abuse or process of law would not suffice. It is quite possible that after considering the reply to the show-cause notice the authority concerned may drop the drop the matter. It is also well settled that a writ lies when some right of any party is infringed. A mere show- cause notice or charge-sheet does not infringe the right of any one. It is only when a final order imposing some punishment or otherwise adversely affecting a party is passed, that the said party can be said to have any grievance.

4. Another important point which cannot be brushed aside is that Sec.20 of the A.T. Act, 1985 provides that Tribunal shall not ordinarily admit an application unless it is satisfied that the applicant had availed of all the remedies available to him under the relevant service rules as to redressal of grievances. In the said notice 10 days time was allowed to the applicant to submit his reply but instead of submitting his reply, he rushed to this Tribunal in the instant OA.

Therefore, no such extra ordinary situation has been made out by the applicant to take an exception so as to entertain this OA at this stage.

5. In the facts and circumstances of the case as discussed above, we do not see any justifiable reason to entertain this OA at this stage. Hence, without expressing any opinion on the merit of the matter, this OA stands dismissed at this admission stage.

No costs.”

4. On the basis of charge memorandum dated 20.07.2023, in the department inquiry, the Inquiry Officer hel