Nafr High Court
Case Details
1 2025:CGHC:867 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPS No. 20 of 2025 1 - Sheikh Bahadur Vishwakarma S/o Shri Jang Bahadur Vishwakarma Aged About 37 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable Telicom, Batch No. 858, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 2 - Mohd. Asif Ali S/o Mohd. Anwar Khan Aged About 40 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable (Telicom), Batch No. 857, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 3 - Arvind Pratap Singh S/o Shri Chhote Singh Rathore Aged About 35 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 291, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 4 - Akhilesh Kumar Tripathi S/o Shri Gadadhar Tripathi Aged About 33 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 406, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh.
Legal Reasoning
5 - Vinod Singh Yadav S/o Shri Rajesh Singh Yadav Aged About 36 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 625, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 6 - Tarkeshwar Yadav S/o Shri Pandhari Yadav Aged About 34 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 482, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 7 - Komal Ahirwar S/o Shri Kashiram Ahirwar Aged About 40 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 259, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 8 - Ravendra Singh S/o Shri Ranveer Singh Aged About 36 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 289, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 2 9 - Surendra Singh S/o Shri Pancham Singh Aged About 36 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 489, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 10 - Gangasagar Pal S/o Shri Birbal Pal Aged About 38 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 442, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 11 - Dhiraj Kumar S/o Shri Udai Shankar Aged About 36 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 134, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 12 - Vrajesh Kumar Yadav S/o Late Hare Ram Yadav Aged About 37 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 56, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 13 - Pawan Kumar Singh S/o Shri Anil Kumar Aged About 35 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable (Telicom), Batch No. 845, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 14 - Tulsi Ram S/o Shri Manohar Patle Aged About 37 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 485, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 15 - Shri Rajkumar Singh Chouhan S/o Shri Suraj Waks Singh Chouhan Aged About 61 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable(C.C.), Batch No., 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 16 - Manish Kumar Singh S/o Shri Uday Shankar Singh Aged About 37 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable(Telicom), Batch No. 844, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 17 - Shivam Singh S/o Shri Vishram Singh Aged About 35 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable(Telicom), Batch No. 860, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 18 - Roop Narayan Sahni S/o Shri Bhola Sahni Aged About 35 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 508, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 19 - Jiyaulhaque Khan S/o Mohd. Suhel Khan Aged About 38 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable(Telicom), Batch No. 856, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 3 20 - Arun Yadav S/o Shri Shivanand Yadav Aged About 34 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable(Telicom), Batch No. 848, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 21 - Sanjay Kumar Yadav S/o Shri Ramashankar Yadav Aged About 35 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 572, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 22 - Munna Singh Yadav S/o Shri Rajendra Singh Yadav Aged About 37 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 401, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 23 - Jokuram S/o Shri Hansraj Aged About 36 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 211, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 24 - Gopal Singh Yadav S/o Shri Chandrama Singh Yadav Aged About 37 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 444, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 25 - Birendra Singh S/o Shri Dharmveer Singh Aged About 38 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 210, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 26 - Dushyant Singh S/o Shri Sodan Singh Aged About 35 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 430, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 27 - Prempal Yadav S/o Shri Surendra Singh Aged About 35 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 492, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 28 - Rakesh Yadav S/o Shri Ramnath Yadav Aged About 37 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 607, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 29 - Lalchandra S/o Shri Doodnath Aged About 38 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 902, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 30 - Amar Singh S/o Shri Ramswarup Singh Aged About 37 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 904, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 31 - Upendra Singh S/o Shri Kailash Singh Aged About 35 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 915, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 4 32 - Ragvendra Babu S/o Ramesh Chandra Aged About 35 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 918, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 33 - Shivdutt Singh Yadav S/o L.S. Yadav Aged About 41 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable(Trade), Batch No. 1042, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 34 - D.K. Lal S/o Baban Lal Aged About 37 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable(Telicom), Batch No. 850, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 35 - Veermani Paswan S/o Sikandar Paswan Aged About 34 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 308, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 36 - C.K. Tiwari S/o Siyaram Tiwari Aged About 35 Years Presently Working On The Post Of Constable, Batch No. 409, 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. ... Petitioners versus 1 - State Of C.G. Through The Secretary, Dept. Of Home, Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar, Naya Raipur, District Raipur, Chhattisgarh. 2 - The Director General Of Police Police Headquarter Raipur, District Raipur, Chhattisgarh. 3 - The Commandant 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. 4 - The Company Commander Unit Narayanpur 16th Battalion I/ R Chhattisgarh Arms Force Narayanpur, District Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh. ... Respondents For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Aakash Pandey, Advocate For Respondent(s) : Ms. Shailja Shukla, Deputy Government Advocate Hon'ble Shri Amitendra Kishore Prasad, Judge 07 .01.2025
Decision
Order on Board 1. The present writ petition has been filed by the petitioners with the following prayers: 5 “10.1. That this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to set aside the impugned order dated 22.05.2014(Annexure P-1) issued by the respondent No. 3 in respect of petitioners. 10.2 That, this Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondent authorities not to take any coercive steps against the petitioners including stopping and recovery of the house allowances. 10.3 Any other relief, which may be deemed fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case, may also be allowed.” 2. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioners were initially appointed as Constables in the Police Department and were posted in the Naxal-affected areas. He further submitted that vide order dated 30.10.2004 respondent No. 1 issued a Circular and granted HRA @ 7% of basic salary to the Police employees who were posted in the Naxal- affected areas. He also submitted that vide order dated 22.05.2014, an order of recovery of HRA was issued by respondent No. 3 on the ground that the petitioners are not the residents of the State of Chhattisgarh, therefore they are not entitled to get HRA. He further argued that the order passed by respondent No. 3 is arbitrary, discriminatory, mala-fide and therefore, deserves to be quashed. He further submits that in the identical petition bearing WPS No.3432/2014, order has been passed granting relief as prayed for by the petitioners herein, therefore, the present petition may also be allowed in terms of the said order. 3. The said fact has not been disputed by the learned State counsel, however, she submits that the petition has been filed after an inordinate delay, upon which, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that it is a recurring relief in which the delay would not be applicable. 6 4. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record. 5. In the identical matter bearing WPS No. 3432/2014 (Sanjay Pratap Singh and others vs. State of Chhattisgarh and others), the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court, vide order dated 30.07.2024, has passed the order and the relevant para of the said order is quoted hereinbelow:- “5. Admittedly, the petitioners are Police Constables. At the relevant time, they were posted in the Naxal-affected areas. As a sufÏcient number of government accommodations were not available, the petitioners stayed in rented houses. A Circular was issued by the State Government on 30.10.2007, according to which the Police ofÏcials who are staying in rented houses would be entitled to get HRA. The petitioners were granted HRA by the department in the year 2011. This practice continued till 22.05.2014 and on that date, an order of recovery was issued by respondent No. 3. 6. The order granting the benefit of HRA to petitioners and other police ofÏcers was issued by the department itself and there was no misrepresentation on the part of petitioners. The benefit was extended according to the existing circulars; though a declaration was submitted by petitioners, in the absence of any rule concerning the submission of a declaration form, it would not be binding upon the petitioners. 7. Taking into consideration the fact that (i) the benefit of HRA was extended to the petitioners by the department itself; (ii) there was no misrepresentation on the part of the petitioners; (iii) the petitioners are Class-III employees; and (iv) the order of recovery has been issued after 3 years, therefore it would iniquitous for them to refund the amounts. Thus, the order dated 22.05.2014 (Annexure P/1) pertaining to the petitioners is hereby quashed.” 7 6. After considering the petition as well as the order passed by the Co- ordinate Bench of this Court, I am of the opinion that the present petition is liable to be allowed in terms of WPS No.3432/2014 which has been allowed vide order dated 30.07.2024. 7. 8. Accordingly, the writ petition is allowed. Since the petition is being disposed off finally as such the I.A. No. 1, application for exemption from filing typed copy of annexures is also allowed. Sd/- (Amitendra Kishore Prasad) Judge amita Digitally signed by AMITA DUBEY Date: 2025.01.23 08:55:07 +0530