Govt files LPA against stay in suspension case

AHMEDABAD, Sept 30: The State Government on Thursday filed a letters patent appeal before a Division Bench comprising Justice J N Bhatt a...

AHMEDABAD, Sept 30: The State Government on Thursday filed a letters patent appeal before a Division Bench comprising Justice J N Bhatt and Justice H K Rathod of Gujarat High Court against the stay granted by a single judge of the Court in the suspension of IPS officers Vipul Vijoy and Manoj Agarwal.

While advocates Utpal Panchal and Arun Mehta appearing for Vijoy and Agarwal contended that the Government8217;s appeal was non-maintainable, Additional Advocate General S N Shelat and Government Pleader Prashant Desai argued that the LPA was in fact maintainable.

It was argued on behalf of the Government that according to Sections 14 and 28 of the Administrative Tribunal Act, a petition regarding All India Services was maintainable only in the Central Administrative Tribunal CAT. It was submitted that according to the contention of Vijoy and Agarwal, they were IPS officers and were from the All-India Services.

The Government submitted that as the suspension order was passed under the All India Services Discipline amp; Appeal Rule, 1969, only the CAT had the jurisdiction to entertain the petitions of Vijoy and Agarwal. Thus, the High Court did not possess any jurisdiction to entertain the original petitions regarding service matters, it said.

It submitted that the High Court was excluded from entertaining petitions under All India Services Discipline amp; Appeal Rule. In a Supreme Court judgment it was held that the High Court had only supervisory jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution against the order of CAT.

The Government submitted that if the petitions had challenged its order regarding the suspensions under the Administrative Tribunal Act, only then would the original petitions have been maintainable in the High Court, otherwise, the two officers should have moved CAT.

Hearing in the matter remained inconclusive as the version of Vijoy and Agarwal needed to be heard through their lawyers since both had filed a caveat against the LPA. Further hearing in the case will resume on October 4.