Nafr High Court
Case Details
1 2025:CGHC:11694 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPC No. 1271 of 2025 1 - Vikas Pandey S/o Shri Uma Shankar Pandey Aged About 45 Years R/o Sheetla Para, In Front Of Sheetla Mandir, Kanker Distt - Uttar Bastar Kanker (C.G.) SHOAIB ANWAR Digitally signed by SHOAIB ANWAR Date: 2025.03.10 17:11:34 +0530 --- Petitioner(s) versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Secretary, Department Of Commercial Tax-Gst, Mahanadi Bhawan, Naya Raipur, Distt. Raipur (C.G.) 2 - Chhattisgarh State Information Commission Through Secretary Sector-19, Naya Raipur, Distt - Raipur (C.G.)
Legal Reasoning
3 - First Appellate Authority And Additional Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector - 19, Naya Raipur, Distt - Raipur (C.G.) 2 4 - Public Information OfÏcer And Deputy Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector - 19, Naya Raipur, Distt- Raipur (C.G.) 5 - Commissioner Commercial Tax-Gst Department Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector - 19, Naya Raipur, Distt- Raipur (C.G.) --- Respondent(s) WPC No. 1283 of 2025
Legal Reasoning
1 - Vikas Pandey S/o Shri Uma Shankar Pandey Aged About 45 Years R/o Sheetla Para In Front Of Sheetla Mandir Kanker District - Uttar Bastar Kanker (C.G.) ---Petitioner(s) Versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Secretary Depatment Of Commercial Tax Gst Mahanadi Bhawan Naya Raipur District - Raipur (C.G.) 2 - Chhattisgarh State Information Commession Through Secretary Sector - 19 Naya Raipur District - Raipur (C.G.) 3 - First Appellate Authority And Additional Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce Sector 19 Naya Raipur District - Raipur (C.G.) 3 4 - Public Information OfÏcer And Deputy Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce Sector - 19 Naya Raipur District - Raipur (C.G.) 5 - Commissioner Commercial Tax Gst Department Commercial Tax OfÏce Sector -19 Naya Raipur District - Raipur (C.G.) , --- Respondent(s) WPC No. 1286 of 2025 1 - Vikas Pandey S/o Shri Uma Shankar Pandey Aged About 45 Years R/o Sheetla Para, In Front Of Sheetla Mandir, Kanker, Distt - Uttar Bastar Kanker (C.G.) ---Petitioner(s) Versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Secretary, Department Of Commercial Tax-Gst, Mahanadi Bhawan, Naya Raipur, Distt. Raipur (C.G.) 2 - Chhattisgarh State Information Commission Through Secretary Sector-19, Naya Raipur, Distt- Raipur (C.G.) 3 - First Appellate Authority And Additional Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector - 19, Naya Raipur, Distt - Raipur (C.G.) 4 4 - Public Information OfÏcer And Deputy Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector - 19, Naya Raipur, Distt- Raipur (C.G.) 5 - Commissioner Commercial Tax-Gst Department Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector - 19, Naya Raipur, Distt- Raipur (C.G.) --- Respondent(s) WPC No. 1294 of 2025 1 - Vikas Pandey S/o Shri Uma Shankar Pandey Aged About 45 Years R/o Sheetla Para, In Front Of Sheetla Mandir, Kanker, Distt.- Uttar Bastar Kanker (C.G.) ---Petitioner(s) Versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Secretary, Department Of Commercial Tax-Gst, Mahanadi Bhawan, Naya Raipur, Distt. Raipur (C.G.) 2 - Chhattisgarh State Information Commission Through Secretary, Sector-19, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) 3 - First Appellate Authority And Additional Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector-19, Naya Raipur, Distt. Raipur (C.G.) 5 4 - Public Information OfÏcer And Deputy Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector-19, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) 5 - Commissioner Commercial Tax- Gst Department Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector-19, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) --- Respondent(s) WPC No. 1295 of 2025 1 - Vikas Pandey S/o Shri Uma Shankar Pandey Aged About 45 Years R/o Sheetla Para, In Front Of Sheetla Mandir, Kanker, Distt.- Uttar Bastar Kanker (C.G.) ---Petitioner(s) Versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Secretary, Department Of Commercial Tax-G.S.T., Mahanadi Bhawan, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) 2 - Chhattisgarh State Information Commission Through Secretary, Sector-19, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) 3 - First Appellate Authority And Additional Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector-19, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) 4 - Public Information OfÏcer And Deputy Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector-19, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) 6 5 - Commissioner Commercial Tax-G.S.T. Department, Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector-19, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) --- Respondent(s) WPC No. 1296 of 2025 1 - Vikas Pandey S/o Shri Uma Shankar Pandey Aged About 45 Years R/o Sheetla Para, In Front Of Sheetla Mandir, Kanker, Distt. - Uttar Bastar Kanker (C.G.) ---Petitioner(s) Versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Secretary, Department Of Commercial Tax-Gst, Mahanadi Bhawan, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) 2 - Chhattisgarh State Information Commission Through Secretary, Sector- 19, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) 3 - First Appellate Authority And Additional Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector- 19, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) 4 - Public Information OfÏcer And Deputy Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector- 19, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) 7 5 - Commissioner Commercial Tax-Gst Department Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector-19, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) --- Respondent(s) WPC No. 1300 of 2025 1 - Vikas Pandey S/o Shri Uma Shankar Pandey Aged About 45 Years R/o Sheetla Para In Front Of Sheetla Mandir Kanker District - Uttar Bastar Kanker (C.G.) ---Petitioner(s) Versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Secretary Department Of Commercial Tax Gst Mahanadi Bhawan Naya Raipur District - Raipur (C.G.) 2 - Chhattisgarh State Information Commission Through Secretary Sector -19 Naya Raipur District - Raipur (C.G.) 3 - First Appellate Authority And Additional Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce Sector - 19 Naya Raipur District - Raipur (C.G.) 4 - Public Information OfÏcer And Deputy Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce Sector - 19 Naya Raipur District - Raipur (C.G.) 8 5 - Commissioner Commercial Tax Gst Department Commercial Tax OfÏce Sector - 19 Naya Raipur District - Raipur (C.G.) --- Respondent(s) WPC No. 1302 of 2025 1 - Vikas Pandey S/o Shri Uma Shankar Pandey Aged About 45 Years R/o Sheetla Para, In Front Of Sheetla Mandir, Kanker, Distt.- Uttar Bastar Kanker (C.G.) ---Petitioner(s) Versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Secretary, Department Of Commercial Tax-Gst, Mahanadi Bhawan, Naya Raipur, Distt. Raipur (C.G.) 2 - Chhattisgarh State Information Commission Through Secretary, Sector-19, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) 3 - First Appellate Authority And Additional Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector-19, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) 4 - Public Information OfÏcer And Deputy Commissioner Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector-19, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) 5 - Commissioner Commercial Tax-Gst Department Commercial Tax OfÏce, Sector-19, Naya Raipur, Distt.- Raipur (C.G.) 9 --- Respondent(s) (Cause title taken from CIS) For Petitioner(s) For Respondents/State For Respondent No. 2 : Shri Avinash Chand Sahu : Ms. Nupoor Sonkar, Shri Shreyansh Mehta, Shri Anmol Sharma and Shri Khulesh Sahu, Panel Lawyers. : Shri Advocate. Shyam Sundar Lal Tekchandani, Hon'ble Shri Bibhu Datta Guru , Judge Order on Board 10.03.2025 1. By the present writ petition, the petitioners are questioning the order dated 28.12.2023 (Annexure P/1) in WPC Nos. 1271/2025 & 1300/2025 and order dated 06.03.2024 (Annexure P/1) in all the remaining writ petitions by which the respondent No.2/ Chhattisgarh State Information Commission has rejected the Second Appeal of the petitioner wherein the petitioner is seeking the answer sheet of one of the candidates who passed the recruitment examination for the post of Commercial Tax Inspector. 2. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submits that while rejecting the appeal filed by the petitioner, the reason assigned by the Information Commission is absolutely contrary to the facts and records of the case and the reason for which the information has not been supplied to the petitioner has not been explained and considered by the appellate authority. 3. Learned counsel appearing for the State Information Commission 10 submits that the order passed by the Commission is a detailed order and there is no illegality. 4. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the documents and the order impugned whereby the second appeal of the petitioner has been rejected. 5. From perusal of the impugned order, it appears that the appeal of the petitioner has been rejected and the reason assigned therein is incorrect to the facts of the case. The Commission has not discussed and explained that for what reason the information sought by the petitioner has not been provided to him. 6. In the case of East Coast Railway and Another v Mahadev Appa Rao and Others1 the Supreme Court in a very categorical terms has held that arbitrariness in the making of an order by an authority can manifest itself in different forms. Every order passed by a public authority must disclose due and proper application of mind by the persons making the order. Application of mind is best demonstrated by disclosure of mind by the authority making the order and disclosure is best done by recording the reasons that led the authority to pass the order in question. Absence of reasons either in the order passed by the authority or in the record contemporaneously maintained is clearly suggestive of the order being arbitrary hence legally unsustainable. In the absence of reasons in support of the order it is difficult to assume that the authority had properly applied its mind before passing of the 1 (2010) 7 SCC 678 order. 11 7. Likewise, in the case of Assistant Commissioner, Commercial Tax Department, Works Contract and Leasing, Kota v Shukla and Brothers2, the Supreme Court has held that recording of reasons is an essential feature of dispensation of justice. 8. For the reasons mentioned herein above, the impugned order dated 28.12.2023 (Annexure P/1) in WPC Nos. 1271/2025 & 1300/2025 and order dated 06.03.2024 (Annexure P/1) in all the
Decision
remaining writ petition is hereby quashed and the writ petition is allowed. However liberty is reserved for the State Information Commission to consider the appeal afresh by providing opportunity of hearing to all the parties and to decide the same in accordance with law. Sd/- (Bibhu Datta Guru) Judge Shoaib 2 (2010) 4 SCC785