In CM-746-C-2023-PUNJ HC- Writing letter to higher Authorities does not give jurisdiction to Department to declare person insane: P&H HC dismisses appeal against Order directing Department to allow respondent to join duties
Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi [15-03-2023]

Read Order: STATE OF PUNJAB VS KEWAL KRISHAN 

Mansimran Kaur

Chandigarh, March 18, 2023: In a case where the Department asked the respondent working as a Junior Assistant to get a fitness certificate before he could be allowed to join, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has opined that writing a letter to the higher authorities does not give a jurisdiction to a Department to declare a person insane.

Present Regular Second Appeal was instituted by the State of Punjab challenging the judgment and decree of the Court below by which, the suit filed by the respondent-plaintiff was allowed and the appeal preferred by the State against the judgment and decree of the trial Court dated November 15, 1994 was dismissed.   By dismissing the same, the Punjab and Haryana High Court observed that no rule was cited or brought on record to show that in case a letter was written by an official to the higher authorities, he was required to undergo a medical examination so as to join the duties and that too in pursuance to a direction by the competent Court of law.

A Single bench of Justice Harsimran Sethi dismissed the present regular second appeal by stating that in the absence of any perversity being pointed out in the instant matter,  no interference was  called for in the present Regular Second Appeal. 

Factual matrix of the case was such that the respondent-plaintiff was working as Junior Assistant with the appellant-State of Punjab and he applied for leave for a certain period. 

 After availing the said leave, he moved an application for extension of leave upto December 31, 1992.  The said extension was neither accepted nor declined by the concerned Department and when the respondent-plaintiff went back to join the duties, he was not allowed to join. 

The respondent-plaintiff filed a civil suit against the appellant seeking a mandatory injunction that he be permitted to join his duties and he should be paid his salary along with interest. 

The said suit was partly dismissed but the appeal preferred by the respondent-plaintiff was allowed and he obtained a decree against the Department that the respondent-plaintiff be allowed to join the duties. A Regular Second Appeal filed by the Department was also dismissed by this Court on September 20, 1991. 

Despite a decree, the respondent-plaintiff was not being allowed to join the duties and he was being asked to get himself medically checked before allowing him to re-join the duties. He was issued a letter stating that he should get himself medically checked before he is allowed to rejoin the duty despite there being a decree against the appellant-Department to allow him to join the duties. 

Said letter was challenged by the respondent-plaintiff by filing a civil suit. The said suit was allowed by the trial Court on and the order dated November 25, 1992 asking the respondent-plaintiff to undergo the medical examination, was held to be without any valid justification and the said letter was set aside and a direction was again given to the appellant-Department to allow the respondent-plaintiff to join the duties with all service benefits along with arrears of pay and emoluments. 

Feeling aggrieved against the said decision, an appeal was preferred by the State of Punjab before the lower Appellate Court and the lower Appellate Court upheld the judgment and decree of the trial Court dated November 15, 1994 and the appeal filed by the State was dismissed vide judgment and decree dated February 28, 1996, hence, the present Regular Second Appeal. 

Counsel for the appellant-State argued that the respondent-plaintiff was in habit of writing letters to the higher authorities and making allegations against the Department due to which he was asked to get a fitness certificate before he could be allowed to join, which factor was not taken into account by the Courts below while allowing the suit filed by the respondent-plaintiff. 

After considering the submissions, the Court noted,   “...writing a letter to the higher authorities does not give a jurisdiction to a Department to declare a person insane” 

Mere writing a letter to higher authorities was not a misconduct in itself unless and until fake allegations were  made in those letters, in which circumstances, it will be a misconduct for which, the Department could have availed appropriate remedy as provided under the Rules, the Court further remarked. 

 Once, no charge-sheet was issued to the respondent-plaintiff and nothing was  pointed out by the counsel for the appellant that against such alleged action of the respondent plaintiff, any charge-sheet was ever served upon him, writing the impugned letter to the respondent-plaintiff to get himself medically checked, was without any valid justification, the Court opined. 

 No rule was cited or brought on record to show that in case a letter is written by an official to the higher authorities, he is required to undergo a medical examination so as to join the duties and that too in pursuance to a direction by the competent Court of law. No evidence or fact was brought to the notice of this Court, which was relied on by the Courts below to be perverse, the Court at the outset observed. 

In the absence of any perversity being pointed out, no interference was called for in the present Regular Second Appeal. 

In view of the above, the appeal was dismissed.