Rules regulating employee conduct are presumed valid until declared otherwise, maintaining judicial propriety in pending cases.

Court No. 2 IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction

14.7.2025 Appellate Side (Item No. 2)

W.P.A. 14380 of 2025 (AB)

Sanatan Bhowmick VS Union of India & Ors.

Mr. Ujjal Roy Mr. Arpa Chakraborty …. For the petitioner Mr. Rajdeep Majumdar Ld. DSG Ms. Arushi Rathore …. For Union of India Mr. Dilip Kumar Kundu …. For L.I.C.I.

Affidavit of service filed in Court today, is taken on record.

Mr. Ujjal Roy, learned advocate appears for the petitioner.

Mr. Rajdeep Majumdar, learned Deputy Solicitor General appears for Union of India with Ms. Arushi Rathore, learned advocate.

Mr. Dilip Kumar Kundu, learned counsel appears for respondent nos. 2 to 4.

Mr. Kundu has taken a preliminary point that the disciplinary proceeding has been initiated by the employer being L.I.C.I., who has not been impleaded in this writ petition. The rules under challenge are the rules of L.I.C.I. though part of central legislation but the authority being L.I.C.I. is not being made a party in this writ petition.

Be that as it may, this is a technical plea, if this Court proceeds on the same, though the point may be a valid one but then the petitioner being a litigant who is dependent on his advocate while proceeding in a litigation may suffer immense prejudice and his right to get substantive justice may be vitiated.

Technical plea shall not over ride substantive justice.

The petitioner being a litigant has engaged his learned advocate with all bona fide and is under the impression that his right is being pursued in right earnest, therefore, the petitioner cannot suffer.

In view of the above, L.I.C.I. is impleaded as a party respondent in this writ petition. The learned advocate on record for the petitioner shall implead L.I.C.I. in the cause title of the original writ petition and wherever it is required by putting his signature. Only upon such impleadment this order shall be effected. Prayers (d) and (e) from the writ petition are quoted below:

“d) A Declaration do issue declaring Rules 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 of the Life Insurance Corporation of India Development Officers (Revision of Certain Terms and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2009 ulta vires Articles 14, 16, 20(2) and 21 of the Constitution of India for conferring uncanalised and unbridled powers upon the Respondents to terminate the services of a class of employees in an unreasonable and illegal manner;

e) A Declaration do issue declaring Rules 2, 3, 6, 7 and 8 of the Life Insurance Corporation of India. Development Officers (Revision of Certain Terms and Conditions of Service) Amendments Rules, 2016 ultra vires Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India since it is tantamount to creation of a class within a class of permanent Class II category Development Officers in an unreasonable, illegal and discriminatory manner;”

Claiming identical reliefs several writ petitions are pending before this Court in which diverse orders were passed from time to time. One such order date April 10, 2025 was also passed by this Court in W.P.A. 7514 of 2025 In the matter of: Koushik Mondal Vs. Union of India & Ors Mr. Ujjal Ray, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has drawn attention of this Court to an interim order dated April 15, 2024 passed by a co-ordinate bench.

L.I.C.I. has preferred an appeal from the same being MAT 1222 of 2024. The appeal was disposed of with the following observations:

“2. By the impugned order, learned Single Judge noticed that there are subsisting interim orders passed by the Coordinate Bench in a number of writ petitions spanning from 2019 till 2023. In view of subsistence of such interim orders, learned Single Judge proceeded to grant the same interim order to the writ petitioner by the impugned order.

3. Learned advocate appearing for the appellant submits that, there are orders of different High Courts which did not grant such interim order.

4. The writ petition is yet to be finally decided. There subsists interim orders passed in a number of writ petitions spanning over a p