The Delhi High Court has dismissed a writ petition challenging an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) that had given relaxation to the railway officer in a dispute relating to the damage rent for alleged unauthorized retention of railway accommodation.
The case arose after the respondent, an Indian Railways Account Service officer, was granted the permission to retain the government accommodation for a certain period on account of his wife’s sickness. After expiry of that period, the authorities treated the retention as unauthorized and imposed damage rent. Subsequently, the representation seeking the regularization of the subject government accommodation and waiver of the damaged rent was rejected, leading to the recovery of the substantial amount from the respondent’s retirement benefits.
Aggrieved by the decision, the respondent approached the CAT, which set aside the relevant order and directed consideration of relaxation of damage charges, regularization of the accommodation for the disputed period, and refund after adjustment of normal license fees.
Endorsing the Tribunal’s reasoning, the Bench Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Amit Mahajan observed that chronic illness is by its very nature prolonged and persistent. The Court found no infirmity in the CAT’s directions.
The Court noted that while no statutory limitation applies to writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, undue delay and laches are relevant considerations. The court recorded that the petition had been filed after substantial delay without justification.
Finding no ground to interfere, the Court has dismissed the writ petition while leaving it open to the respondent to seek contempt or pursue other remedies as per the law.
Appearances:
CGSC Jagdish Chandra Solanki with Advocate Siddharth Bajaj and Advocate Sujeet Choudhary for the Petitioners
None for the Respondent
