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Rajasthan High Court – Jaipur
Rajasthan Rajasav Mantralyik … vs State Of Rajasthan (2025:Rj-Jp:27386) on 22 July, 2025
Author: Mahendar Kumar Goyal
Bench: Mahendar Kumar Goyal
[2025:RJ-JP:27386]
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN
BENCH AT JAIPUR
S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 9290/2024
1. Rajasthan Rajasav Mantralyik Karmchari Sangh, Through
Its Authorize Signatory Shri. Bharat Sharma, S/o Shri.
Ramkaran Sharma, Aged About 32 Years R/o Krishana
Nagar, Dausa, Rajasthan - 303303
Petitioner No.1
2. Bharat Sharma, S/o Shri. Ramkaran Sharma, Aged About
32 Years, R/o Krishana Nagar, Dausa, Rajasthan - 303303
----Petitioner No.2
Versus
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through Principal Secretary,
Department Of Food And Civil Supplies, Government Of
Rajasthan, Secretariat, Jaipur
2. State Of Rajasthan, Through Principal Secretary,
Department Of Personnel, Government Of Rajasthan,
Secretariat, Jaipur
3. State Of Rajasthan, Through Principal Secretary,
Department Of Revenue, Government Of Rajasthan,
Secretariat, Jaipur
4. State Of Rajasthan, Through Joint Secretary, Department
Of Administrative Reform, Government Of Rajasthan,
Secretriat, Jaipur
5. Special Secretary, Department Of Food And Civil Supplies,
Government Of Rajasthan, Secretariat, Jaipur
6. Collector, Dausa, Collectorate, District Dausa, Rajasthan
7. Collector, Jaipur, Collectorate, District Jaipur, Rajasthan
----Respondents
For Petitioner(s) : Mr. A.K. Sharma, Sr. Adv. assisted by
Mr. Madhav Dadhich
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Vigyan Shah, AAG assisted by
Mr. Sankalp Vijay
Ms. Ritika Naruka
Ms. Tanvisha Pant
Mr. Kapil Prakash Mathur, AAG with
Ms. Sara Parveen
Ms. Manju Joshi, AGC with
Ms. Deepa Singh
Mr. Tanveer Ahamad with
Mr. Iliyas Khan
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE MAHENDAR KUMAR GOYAL
Judgment / Order
(D.B. SAW/427/2025 has been filed in this matter. Please refer the same for further orders)
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[2025:RJ-JP:27386] (2 of 5) [CW-9290/2024]
22/07/2025
For the reasons stated in the application No.1/2025 filed by
the applicants/petitioners for taking on record the document
appended therewith, which is not opposed by the learned counsels
for the respondents, the same is allowed. The document appended
with application is taken on record.
This writ petition is filed with following prayers:-
“(i) by an appropriate writ, order or direction
the impugned order dated 07.06.2023
passed by the Special Government
Secretary, Department of Food and Civil
Supplies (Annexure – P/11) be quashed and
set aside.
(ii) Any other order or relief which this Hon’ble
Court deems fit and proper may be passed in
favour of the petitioner.
(iii) Cost of the Writ Petition may kindly be
awarded in favour of the petitioner.”
A preliminary objection is raised by the learned counsels for
the respondents as to maintainability of the writ petition for the
petitioners have an alternative and efficacious remedy available
under the provisions of the Rajasthan Civil Services (Service
Matters Appellate Tribunals) Act, 1976 (for brevity “the Act of
1976”).
Per contra, learned Senior Counsel for the petitioners,
inviting attention of this Court towards Section 4 of the Act of
1976, would submit that the Tribunal is competent to hear an
(D.B. SAW/427/2025 has been filed in this matter. Please refer the same for further orders)
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[2025:RJ-JP:27386] (3 of 5) [CW-9290/2024]
appeal against an order passed by an officer/authority on any
service matter or matters affecting a Government servant in his
personal capacity and since, in the instant case, it is an
association of the employees who has approached this Court, the
Tribunal is not competent to hear the matter. He further submits
that the Revenue Department has admitted in its reply that the
order impugned suffers from an illegality and therefore, this writ
petition is maintainable. He asserted that since, the order
impugned issued by the State Government has been addressed to
all the District Collectors in the State of Rajasthan and is not
directed against any individual Government Servant, the appeal,
even otherwise, would not be maintainable before the Tribunal.
He, therefore, prays that the preliminary objection be rejected and
the writ petition be heard on its merit.
Heard. Considered.
Indisputably, the order impugned in the writ peition dated
07.06.2023 relates to the service condition of the members of the
petitioner No.1-association, i.e., the Government servants and
therefore, falls within the mischief of ‘service matters’ as defined
under Section 2 (f) of the Act of 1976. Submission of the learned
Senior Counsel for the petitioners that since, Section 4 of the Act
of 1976 authorizes the Tribunal to hear an appeal against an order
on any service matter/matters affecting a Government servant in
his personal capacity only, an appeal preferred by the association
would not be maintainable, does not merit acceptance for the
reason that the provisions of the Act of 1976 cannot be given such
narrow and restricted interpretation. In the considered opinion of
this Court, the phraseology used in Section 4 of the Act of 1976
(D.B. SAW/427/2025 has been filed in this matter. Please refer the same for further orders)
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[2025:RJ-JP:27386] (4 of 5) [CW-9290/2024]
authorizing an affected Government servant in his personal
capacity to file an appeal includes a joint appeal by more than one
Government servant as also an appeal by an authorized
union/association, if the grievance raised is not individual; but,
common to all. It is trite law that a registered association can
always espouse cause of its members as good as by an individual
member. It is also not in dispute before this Court that a joint
appeal by more than one Government servant is maintainable
before the Tribunal. Moreover, such an interpretation of Section 4
of the Act of 1976 advances the object of avoidance of multiplicity
of litigation as well as preservation of ‘green energy’, i.e., trees by
saving a huge amount of paper.
Objection of Shri Sharma that since, the order impugned is
addressed to all the District Collectors in the State of Rajasthan
and is not directed against any individual, the appeal under the
Act of 1976 would not be maintainable, is devoid of any
substance. As already observed, it is the case of the petitioners
themselves that the order impugned adversely affects the service
conditions of the members of the petitioner No.1-association, who
are Government servants and their grievance is common. Even if
it is not addressed to any individual Government Servant, it
cannot be held that no appeal thereagainst under the Act of 1976
would be maintainable in the aforesaid circumstances.
Although, it has been canvassed by the learned Senior
Counsel for the petitioners that the Revenue Department-the
respondent No.3, has admitted in its reply that the order
impugned is illegal but, despite opportunity, he could not
demonstrate from the joint reply filed by the respondents No.3, 6
(D.B. SAW/427/2025 has been filed in this matter. Please refer the same for further orders)
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[2025:RJ-JP:27386] (5 of 5) [CW-9290/2024]
& 7 containing any such admission. Even otherwise, the order
impugned in the writ petition is issued by the State Government
through Food and Civil Supplies Department, any averment as to
its validity by the Revenue Department may not have sweeping
bearing on the issue. Moreover, if contents of the reply filed by the
respondent No.3 has any effect on the validity of the order
impugned, this plea can be raised by the petitioners before the
Tribunal as well.
In view of the aforesaid discussion, this Court finds no
substance in the objections raised by the learned Senior Counsel
for the petitioners against the preliminary objection raised by the
learned counsels for the respondents as to maintainability of the
writ petition for availability of an alternative and efficacious
remedy under the Act of 1976.
Resultantly, this civil writ petition is dismissed as not
maintainable. Pending application(s), if any, also stands disposed
of.
(MAHENDAR KUMAR GOYAL),J
Manish/171
(D.B. SAW/427/2025 has been filed in this matter. Please refer the same for further orders)
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