A Division Bench of the Rajasthan High Court recently set aside two orders passed by a single-judge Bench after finding that the judge assumed PIL-like jurisdiction in a matter that was not filed as a public interest litigation (PIL)..A Division Bench comprising Justice Inderjeet Singh and Justice Ravi Chirania found that the single judge had gone beyond the scope of the case and acted outside the authority allowed under the law.The Court noted that the matter was treated as if it were a PIL, and directions were issued beyond the scope of the prayers made in the writ petition."The learned Single Judge exceeded its jurisdiction while passing the orders... The matter was treated as if it were a Public Interest Litigation, and directions were issued travelling beyond the scope of the prayers made in the writ petition," said the Court..The single judge orders under challenge were passed on two separate writ petitions filed by government employees challenging eviction notices from their official accommodation. One petitioner was a senior doctor, while the other was a fully blind employee. Both had sought to continue staying in government housing even after retirement, citing personal difficulties.Initially, the Court had granted interim protection, allowing the petitioners to retain their accommodations temporarily. However, both petitioners eventually vacated the premises, making the original dispute effectively over. The single judge had acknowledged this in an earlier order, noting that the “lis” (dispute) no longer survived..Despite this, the single judge did not close the petitions. Instead, the Court had directed the Additional Advocate General to report on how many government accommodations were still occupied by retired employees or used for commercial purposes in violation of the Rajkiya Awas Avantan Niyam, 1958 (governing the allocation of residential quarters to government employees).When the government did not provide the report, the Court appointed a Court Commissioner to inspect the properties and report back. A coordinating officer was also assigned to assist.During the inspection, a resident named Upendra Singh, who was absent at the time of the inspection, is alleged to have had a heated exchange with the Court Commissioner and the coordinating officer over the phone. "The said person during the course of their telephonic conversation used filthy, derogatory and abusive language against the inspecting officials and the Court, for instance, filthy and foul words like 'haramjade' and that 'I generally keep such orders of the Court in my pocket,'" the single-judge had noted in one of his orders. Following the incident, a police complaint had been filed against Singh, accusing him of causing obstruction and other misconduct. However, the single-judge Bench was informed that no further action had been taken thereafter on the complaint.The single judge, therefore, directed the concerned Station House Officer (SHO) to appear before the Court, issued bailable warrants against Singh, and subsequently ordered registration of an FIR..Singh filed an appeal, challenging this turn of events before the Division Bench.He submitted that the single judge had exceeded his jurisdiction and issued directions that could only be passed on a PIL or criminal complaints, while dealing with a routine civil writ petition that had become infructuous.The case before the single-judge Bench was meant to address disputes over rights or government actions, and not intended to handle public interest concerns or criminal complaints, Singh argued. On February 23, the Division Bench of the High Court set aside the two single-judge orders under challenge, on finding merit in the argument that the single-judge Bench had exceeded its jurisdiction..Advocates Sunil Samdariya and Arihant Samdaria appeared for the appellant (Singh).Additional Advocate General GS Gill along with Assistant Additional Advocate General Shikha Sharma and advocate Jamila Khan represented the State and other respondents. .[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.
