Delhi HC Asks CAT To Consider Commencing Hearing Via Video Conferencing [Read Order]

The appeal has been made by a bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar while dismissing a Service Matter filed in the High Court, owing to non-functioning of the CAT.

In the backdrop, an employee of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation had approached the High Court for quashing of the disciplinary proceedings pending against him for over 7 years, due to which he was precluded from opting for voluntary retirement.

Refusing to entertain the petition for it being purely a "service matter", the High Court highlighted that the Petitioner's case lie under the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, and was thus amenable to adjudication by the Central Administrative Tribunal.

The court stated that in light of the observations made by the Supreme Court in L. Chandra Kumar v Union of India, (1997) 3 SCC 261, the High Court was "entirely proscribed" from entertaining the Petitioner's cause as a court of first instance.

"…Tribunals will, however, continue to act as the only courts of first instance in respect of the areas of law for which they have been constituted. By this, we mean that it will not be open for litigants to directly approach the High Courts even in cases where they question the vires of statutory legislations (except, as mentioned, where the legislation which creates the particular Tribunal is challenged) by overlooking the jurisdiction of the Tribunal concerned," the Supreme Court had held therein.

Accordingly, while acknowledging that even in service matters there may conceivably be cases of pressing urgency which "brook no delay", the High Court has urged the CAT to commence hearings via video conferencing, so that the High Courts are not unnecessarily flooded with more of such petitions.

"In view of the fact that, by virtue of the law laid down in L. Chandra Kumar1 , such disputes cannot be urged before the High Court as a court of first instance, the Hon'ble Chairman of the Central Administrative Tribunal is respectfully requested to examine the feasibility of commencing hearing, of urgent matters, by video conferencing, so that this Court, as also other High Courts, are not swamped by a deluge of petitions which, otherwise, would lie within the jurisdiction of the Central Administrative Tribunal," Justice Hari Shankar observed.

He further remarked that if apposite steps in this direction are not taken, "it may become highly questionable whether, even in extremely urgent cases, the High Court could, in the teeth of the said proscription, entertain a service matter, otherwise amenable to the jurisdiction of the Central Administrative Tribunal, even if the case is of extreme urgency."

Considerably, the CAT's Principal bench and its branches across the country have not been functioning since March 20, due to the lockdown. A notification dated May 2 has been issued for hearing of cases via VC, however no case has been taken up till date.

Case Details:

Case Title: Lalit Kumar Gupta v. North Delhi Municipal Corporation

Case No.: WP (C) 3055/2020

Quorum: Justice C Hari Shankar

Appearance: Advocate Shashank S. Mangal (for Petitioner); Standing Counsel Akhil Mittal (for NDMC)

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