High Court · 2025

1. Mr. Am ar Murt i Shukla & Mr. t he Mukesh Rawat , Advocat es pet it ioner. 2. Mr. B.S. Parihar, learned St anding Counsel for t he St at e of Ut t arakhand.

3. Pet it ioner has sought t he following reliefs in t his writ pet it ion, allegedly filed in public int erest : - t o ( i) To issue writ order or direct ion in t he nat ure of m andam us com m anding and direct ing t he st at e governm ent independent init iat e invest igat ion int o t he allegat ions of corr upt ion and m isconduct against respondent Nos. 10 t o 14, ensur ing t hat t he invest igat ion is conduct ed by an im part ial aut horit y free from any influence of t he err ing officials ( As cont ained in Annexure Nos. 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12 & 17 t o t his w r it pet it ion) . com m anding and direct ing ( ii) To issue writ order or direct ion in t he nat ure of m andam us t he respondent aut horit ies t o conduct a t im e- bound, independent var ious com plaint s against r espondent No. 10 t o 14, financial involvem ent including irregular it ies and abuse of power ( Specially by Respondent no. 10 & 11) . invest igat ion int o t he com m anding and direct ing ( iii) To issue writ order or direct ion in t he nat ure of m andam us t he respondent aut horit ies for im m ediat e t ransfer of respondent Nos. 10 t o 14 from t heir current posit ions t o prevent any pot ent ial t am per ing w it h evidence or int im idat ion of w it nesses during t he course of t he invest igat ion. com m anding and direct ing ( iv) To issue writ order or direct ion in t he nat ure of m andam us im plem ent at ion of necessary m andat ing ensure m easures t ransparency w it hin t he Food and Civil Supplies t he Depart m ent of Ut t arakhand, account abilit y including t he t o rest orat ion of beneficiar ies. t he right s of t he affect ed ( v) To issue writ order or direct ion in t he nat ure of m andam us com m anding and direct ing and respondent aut horit ies t o est ablish a m echanism for t he t im ely and t ransparent invest igat ion of com plaint s against public officials, ensuring account abilit y at all levels. Learned counsel for t he pet it ioner 4. subm it s t hat as per report s subm it t ed by Special I nvest igat ion Team and also Vigilance Depart m ent , cert ain officials, in Food and Civil Supplies serving Depart m ent , are responsible for causing t he public t hat various exchequer. He subm it s irregularit ies are com m it t ed by t hem in foodgrain and ot her dist ribut ion of t hrough Public essent ial com m odit ies Dist ribut ion Syst em . financial t o The grievance raised by pet it ioner is 5. t hat despit e cat egorical finding in t he report s subm it t ed by t hese Agencies, no t he act ion has been persons found responsible for loss t o t he public exchequer. t aken against Learned St at e Counsel, however, 6. subm it t ed t hat t his PI L appears t o be a t here are cert ain m ot ivat ed one, as Officers of Food & Civil Supplies Depart m ent , part icularly, t hose post ed in Dist rict Udham Singh Nagar, against whom disciplinary proceedings were t hose init iat ed, and Officers have sponsored t his pet it ion, wit h a view t o divert t he at t ent ion of t he St at e Governm ent . He furt her subm it s t hat init iat ed against t he person, who was post ed as Dist rict Supply Officer Dist rict Udham Singh Nagar at t he relevant point of t im e. enquiry was it appears disciplinary t hat I f raised by

7. Wit hout going int o t he m erit s of t he rival cont ent ions learned counsel for t he part ies, we dispose of t he writ pet it ion by perm it t ing t he pet it ioner t o approach t he Secret ary, Food & Civil Supplies Depart m ent by m aking a pet it ioner m akes represent at ion. represent at ion wit hin t oday, t he concerned Secret ary shall look int o t he issues raised by pet it ioner and t ake an inform ed decision, as per law, from t he dat e of wit hin product ion of cert ified copy of t his order. I t goes wit hout saying t hat t he persons, against whom any act ion is proposed t o shall also be given a reasonable opport unit y, before passing any order prej udicial t o t heir int erest . four m ont hs t wo weeks t aken, ( A sh i sh N a i t h a n i , J.) ( M a n o j K u m a r Ti w a r i , J.)

27.02.2025 Aswal