Y.L.Srinivas Bhat Vs The Under Secretary to Government of India (Karnataka High Court)
The Karnataka High Court declined to entertain the writ petition filed by a retired income tax official Y.L.Srinivas Bhat seeking arrears of salary, revised pension, and leave encashment, holding that such issues fall within the ambit of service matters. Relying on the Supreme Court’s ruling in L. Chandra Kumar, the Court reiterated that disputes relating to service conditions must be adjudicated by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) as the court of first instance, and not directly by the High Court under writ jurisdiction. Accordingly, the petition was disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to approach the appropriate forum.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF KARNATAKA HIGH COURT
1. At the outset, learned counsel for respondent Nos.1 to 4 raised a preliminary objection regarding maintainability of the writ petition on the ground that the petitioner is a Civil Servant and he has to approach the Central Administrative Tribunal.
2. The grievance in respect of the ‘service matters’ cannot be a subject matter of adjudication at the hands of a Writ Court, as the court of first instance, in the light of the decision of the Apex Court in the case of L.Chandra Kumar vs. Union of India and others reported in 1997(2) SCR 1186.
