Delhi HC Provides Relief To 319 Petitioners From Across The Country By Directing NDRF To Pay Them Deputation Allowance In Accordance With SC Order [Read Order]
The Delhi High Court directed the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) to pay deputation allowance to 319 petitioners who had petitioned before the Court, with effect from 11th September 2009 till the date on which were relieved from service. The order was passed in terms of the Supreme Court's order of April, 2020 in Union of India v. R. Thiyagarajan, as it entailed the same issue...
The Delhi High Court directed the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) to pay deputation allowance to 319 petitioners who had petitioned before the Court, with effect from 11th September 2009 till the date on which were relieved from service.
The order was passed in terms of the Supreme Court's order of April, 2020 in Union of India v. R. Thiyagarajan, as it entailed the same issue as was before the Court and as the Court had been awaiting the pending Supreme Court's decision in the matter to provide relief in line with its ruling. The matter before the Supreme Court had arose in an appeal from the order of the Madras High Court that directed the NDRC to pay relief of deputation allowance to not just the writ petitioner in the matter before it but to all those similarly placed as the petitioner across the country.
The Supreme Court in its order had upheld the order of the Madras High Court to the extent it provided relief to the writ petitioner but had set aside the part of the order that granted relief to those similarly placed as the petitioner across the country. It held that the High Court had exceeded its jurisdiction by issuing relief for the entire country. The Court had stated that
"the High Court of Madras indeed exceeded its jurisdiction in issuing direction for the entire country, while its jurisdiction was limited to the territorial jurisdiction of the State of which it was the High Court and could not have passed a general direction as was done."
The Respondent, relying on the above ruling of the Supreme Court, contended before the Bench comprising of Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Justice Asha Menon that the 319 petitioners who have jointly filed one petition before the Court are admittedly posted in different parts of the country and are not entitled to relief from this Court. However, the Delhi High Court rejected such contention of the respondent stating that it had the jurisdiction to order relief for all petitioners as the respondents are situated in Delhi. The Court stated
"Since the respondents are admittedly situated at Delhi, certainly the petitioners, wheresoever they may be posted, were/are entitled to invoke the jurisdiction of this Court and the respondents/Government of India cannot so compel, particularly the servicemen/ex-servicemen to file petitions in different High Courts, wheresoever they may be posted, for recovery of their dues and to their expense and inconvenience. Also, the respondents/Government of India itself keeps on posting the said officials/personnel from place to place and it will be ridiculous to say that the petitions filed in one High Court would become infructuous on the petitioner/s being posted out from the jurisdiction of that High Court."
Accordingly, the Court ordered that deputation allowance be paid to each of the petitioners, w.e.f from 11th September, 2009 till the date of discharge of each of the petitioners, within 8 weeks and that an interest at the rate of 9% per annum be levied on the amount due to the petitioners after the expiry of eight weeks till the date of payment.
[Read Order]