UNION OF INDIAversusSANJIV CHATURVEDI

                         [2023] 2 S.C.R. 59                              59


                        UNION OF INDIA                                   A
                                  v.
                      SANJIV CHATURVEDI
                   (Civil Appeal No.1587 of 2023)
                         MARCH 03, 2023                                  B
         [M. R. SHAH AND B. V. NAGARATHNA, JJ.]
       Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 – Transfer of OA –
Respondent no.1-original writ petitioner filed Original Application
(OA) before Nainital Circuit Bench, CAT – Union of India filed
                                                                         C
application for transfer of OA from Nainital Circuit Bench to the
Principal Bench, New Delhi – By an order dated 04.12.2020
Chairman of the Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi transferred
it to the Principal Bench, New Delhi – It was challenged before
High Court of Uttarakhand and High Court had set aside the
aforesaid order – On appeal, held : The matter involving the issue       D
of territorial jurisdiction of the High Court to decide a challenge to
an order passed by the Chairman, CAT, Principal Bench, New Delhi
requires reconsideration by a larger Bench.
      Referring the matter to larger Bench, the Court
       HELD : 1. Regard being had to the important issues raised         E
by the respondent no.1 and Union of India and having gone
through the judgment(s) and order(s) passed by this Court in
L. Chandra Kumar and Alapan Bandyopadhyay. The issue
involved is with respect to the territorial jurisdiction of the High
Courts and the effect of introduction of Article 226(2) of the           F
Constitution of India and the statement of the Law Minister while
introducing Article 226(2) of the Constitution referred and that
the issue involved affects a large number of employees and is of
public importance, it would be appropriate that the matter
involving the issue of territorial jurisdiction of the concerned High
Court to decide a challenge to an order passed by the Chairman,          G
CAT, Principal Bench, New Delhi should be considered by a
Larger Bench. [Para 6][71-C-E]
      L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India (1997) 3 SCC
      261 : [1997] 2 SCR 1186; Kusum Ingots and Alloys
                                                                         H
                                 59
60            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                           [2023] 2 S.C.R.


A          Ltd. v. Union of India and Anr. (2004) 6 SCC 254 :
           [2004] 1 Suppl. SCR 841; Alchemist Ltd. and Anr. v.
           State Bank of Sikkim and Ors. (2007) 11 SCC 335 :
           [2007] 4 SCR 46; Union of India Vs. Alapan
           Bandyopadhyay (2022) 3 SCC 133 – referred to.
B                             Case Law Reference
     [1997] 2 SCR 1186                    referred to            Para 3.5
     [2004] 1 Suppl. SCR 841              referred to            Para 4
     [2007] 4 SCR 46                      referred to            Para 5.5
C          CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 1587
     of 2023.
           From the Judgment and Order dated 23.10.2021 of the High Court
     of Uttarakhand at Nainital in WPSB No. 407 of 2020.
           Arvind Kumar Sharma, Adv. for the Appellant.
D
           Tushar Mehta, SGI, K M Natraj, ASG, Shyam Divan, Sr. Adv.,
     Ms. Mayuri Raghuvanshi, Vyom Raghuvanshi, Adith Deshmukh,
     Ms. Purvat Goel, Ms. Mayuri Raghuvanshi, Rajat Nair, Kanu Agrawal,
     Adit Khorana, Ms. Aakansha Kaul, Anukalp Jain, Manek Singh, Aman
     Sahani, Gurmeet Singh Makker, Hrishikesh Baruah, Ms. Radhika Gupta,
E    Himanshu Shekhar, Advs. for the Respondents.
           The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
           M. R. SHAH, J.
           1. Leave granted
F
            2. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment
     and order dated 23.10.2021 passed by the High Court of Uttarakhand at
     Nainital in WPSB No. 407/2020, by which, the High Court has allowed
     the said writ petition and has set aside order dated 04.12.2020 passed by
     the Chairman, Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Principal Bench,
G    New Delhi by which the learned Principal Bench of the Tribunal
     transferred Original Application (OA) No. 331/109/2020 filed by the
     original writ petitioner, from the Allahabad Bench (Nainital Circuit Bench)
     to the Principal Bench, New Delhi, the Union of India has preferred the
     present appeal.
H
           UNION OF INDIA v. SANJIV CHATURVEDI                                  61
                      [M. R. SHAH, J.]

      3. The facts leading to the present appeal in a nutshell are under:-      A
       3.1 That the contesting respondent No. 1 herein – original writ
petitioner filed original application (OA) before the Nainital Circuit Bench,
CAT with the following prayers: -
             “a. To call for records and issue appropriate direction/order
      for quashing present system of 360 degree appraisal being used            B
      in empanelment of officers at the level of Joint Secretary and
      above in Central Government, being arbitrary, unreasonable, in
      violation of principles of natural justice, being in supersession of
      statutory rules and finding of Parliamentary Committee Report.
             b. To restrain the respondents from filling up the posts of        C
      Joint Secretary/equivalent to Joint Secretary rank and also posts
      above in rank of Joint Secretary in Central Government, through
      contract system, in future.
             c. To set aside all those provisions of present Central
      Staffing Scheme, governing constitution of and evaluation by              D
      Expert Panel for the purpose of empanelment at Joint Secretary
      level in Government, issued vide O.M. 36/77/94-EO Central
      (SM-1)” date 05.01.1996 and modified subsequently, being
      arbitrary, unreasonable, violative of principles of natural justice
      and in violation of basic federal structure enshrined into the            E
      Constitution.
             d. To direct the respondents to remove huge artificial time
      lag created between empanelment of officers of different services
      and between same levels in Central Government and State
      Government, in case of All India Service Officers.                        F
             e. To direct the respondents to consider the case of
      Applicant for empanelment to the level of Joint Secretary in view
      of fulfillment of all the eligibility criteria regarding completion of
      requisite number of years of service and elevation into Level-14
      of Pay Matrix; or alternatively, issue directions to respondents not
                                                                                G
      to reject abovementioned case of Applicant, on any ulterior/
      subjective/oblique consideration, and decide the same objectively,
      on merit, facts and in accordance with law only.
            f. To order and appropriate investigation so as to fix
      responsibility into various irregularities into recruitment process
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62             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                            [2023] 2 S.C.R.


A          of Joint Secretary rank officers through contract system, taken
           place in the year 2019, in view of irregularities brought out in para
           3.5 of factual matrix.”
             3.2 That thereafter, the Union of India filed transfer application
     under Section 25 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 (Act, 1985)
B    seeking transfer of OA filed by the writ petitioner from Nainital Circuit
     Bench to the Principal Bench, New Delhi. That by order dated 04.12.2020,
     the Chairman of the Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi, ordered
     transfer of the said OA to the Principal Bench, New Delhi by observing
     that: -
C          “A perusal of the prayer in the O.A. discloses that the very
           procedure for empanelment for the post of Joint Secretary is sought
           to be assailed. The matters of this nature have their own impact
           on the very functioning of the Central Government. It is felt that
           the O.A. deserves to be heard by Principal Bench. Since the
           hearings are taking place through video conferencing, no prejudice
D          are taking place through video conferencing, no prejudice would
           be caused to the respondent in the P.T., i.e. applicant in the O.A.
           also’”
            3.3 The order dated 04.12.2020 transferring OA No. 331/109/
     2020 from Nainital Circuit Bench to the Principal Bench, New Delhi
E    came to be challenged by the original writ petitioner – original applicant
     before the High Court of Uttarakhand. It was submitted on behalf of the
     original writ petitioner before the High Court that what was challenged
     in the OA was the recruitment selection process for the post of Joint
     Secretary. He was also aggrieved of the fact that although eligible
F    candidates were available for the post of Joint Secretary, within the All-
     India Services, a policy decision has been taken by the Central
     Government that the post of Joint Secretary would be filled by hiring
     persons on contractual basis for a period of three to five years and the
     said policy decision would adversely affect the rights of the persons
     who are in the All-India Services. It was also submitted on behalf of the
G    original writ petitioner – original applicant that the ground on which the
     Union of India sought transfer of OA that, since the original writ petitioner
     has challenged a policy decision and since the policy decision has
     “nationwide repercussion”, therefore, the OA deserves to be transferred
     to the Principal Bench, New Delhi, is untenable. It was submitted that if
H    the Parliament were of the opinion that issues of “national importance”
           UNION OF INDIA v. SANJIV CHATURVEDI                                63
                      [M. R. SHAH, J.]

need to be decided only by the Principal Bench, a provision would have        A
existed in the Administrative Tribunals Act, debarring other Benches of
CAT from hearing issues of “national importance” or having “nationwide
repercussion.” However, there is no such bar contained in the
Administrative Tribunals Act, preventing other Benches of CAT, which
are considered to be equivalent to the Principal Bench, from hearing or
                                                                              B
from examining a policy decision of the Central Government. It was
submitted that all the Benches constituted under Section 5 of the Act,
1985 would have equal jurisdiction.
       3.4 The petition was opposed on behalf of the Union of India. The
Union of India challenged the territorial jurisdiction of the High Court of
Uttarakhand to entertain the writ petition. It was submitted on behalf of     C
the Union of India that since all the relevant files and papers are at New
Delhi the case should be transferred to New Delhi. It was also the case
on behalf of the Union of India that since no cause of action had arisen
in Uttarakhand, the Nainital Circuit Bench does not have the territorial
jurisdiction to hear the petition. It was submitted that as the policy was    D
framed in New Delhi, the names were invited for selection in New Delhi,
the selection process begins and ends in New Delhi, therefore, only the
Principal Bench at New Delhi has territorial jurisdiction to hear the OA.
It was also submitted that since the relevant files are lying in New Delhi
and since the relevant witnesses would be available in New Delhi, it
would be in the interest of justice to transfer the case to the Principal     E
Bench, rather than keeping the case pending before the Nainital Circuit
Bench. It was lastly submitted that since the decision with regard to a
policy decision of the Central Government would have nationwide
repercussions, therefore, only the Principal Bench would be the suitable
bench for deciding the validity of the policy decision. Therefore, it was     F
submitted that the Chairman has rightly transferred the OA from the
Nainital Circuit Bench to the Principal Bench in exercise of powers
under Section 25 of the Act, 1985. In the rejoinder, it was the case on
behalf of the original writ petitioner as regards the cause of action, that
part cause of action has arisen in Uttarakhand as the names of the
eligible candidates for the post of Joint Secretary are called from the       G
States; thus, the names are recommended by the States; the service
records of the eligible candidates are with the State and the service
records are forwarded by the State. Moreover, as the decision to appoint
the Joint Secretaries on contractual basis adversely affects his right of
consideration for the post of Joint Secretary, hence, the impact of the       H
64             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                              [2023] 2 S.C.R.


A    policy decision deprives his right in the State of Uttarakhand and
     therefore, a part of cause of action has arisen in the State of Uttarakhand
     and therefore, the Nainital Circuit Bench has jurisdiction to hear the
     OA.
           3.5 That thereafter, after considering the relevant provisions of
B    the Act, 1985 and following the decision of this Court in the case of L.
     Chandra Kumar Vs. Union of India (1997) 3 SCC 261, the High
     Court has allowed the writ petition and has set aside the order dated
     04.12.2020 passed by the Chairman, Central Administrative Tribunal,
     New Delhi by observing that there is no requirement of law that a policy
     decision must, necessarily, be challenged before the Principal Bench
C    and that there is no provision under the Act, 1985 that a challenge to a
     policy decision can be heard only by the Principal Bench.
           3.6 Feeling aggrieved with the impugned judgment and order passed
     by the High Court, Union of India has preferred the present appeal.

D            4. Shri Tushar Mehta, learned Solicitor General appearing on
     behalf of the Union of India has vehemently submitted that as such the
     High Court of Uttarakhand has erred in entertaining the writ petition. It
     is submitted that as such no cause of action has arisen within the territory
     of Uttarakhand High Court, the Uttarakhand High Court lacked the
     territorial jurisdiction to entertain the writ petition against the order passed
E    by the Chairman, Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New
     Delhi. Heavy reliance is placed on the decision of this Court in the case
     of L. Chandra Kumar (supra) as well as on the decision of this Court
     in the case of Union of India Vs. Alapan Bandyopadhyay (2022) 3
     SCC 133.
F            4.1 In the caseof Alapan Bandyopadhyay (supra) after
     considering and following the decision of this Court in the case of L.
     Chandra Kumar (supra), it is specifically observed and held that “all
     decisions of Tribunals created under Article 323A and Article 323B of
     the Constitution will be subject to the scrutiny before a Division Bench
G    of the High Court within whose jurisdiction the concerned Tribunal falls.”
     It is submitted that before this Court an identification question arises.
     That before this Court in the case of Alapan Bandyopadhyay (supra)
     the High Court at Calcutta set aside the order passed by the Principal
     Bench, New Delhi transferring the OA and its files from the Calcutta
     Bench to the Principal Bench (New Delhi). That it is observed and held
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            UNION OF INDIA v. SANJIV CHATURVEDI                                     65
                       [M. R. SHAH, J.]

by this Court that the Calcutta High Court lacked territorial jurisdiction.         A
Shri Tushar Mehta, learned Solicitor General heavily relied upon
paragraphs 15 to 17.
       4.2 Making the above submissions and relying upon the above
decisions it is vehemently submitted by Shri Tushar Mehta, learned
Solicitor General that the impugned judgment and order passed by the                B
High Court of Uttarakhand is wholly without jurisdiction.
      4.3 Shri Tushar Mehta, learned Solicitor General has made
elaborate submissions on merits also, namely, on the powers of the
Chairman conferred under Section 25 of the Act, 1985.
        5. Shri Shyam Divan, learned Senior Advocate has appeared on                C
behalf of the original writ petitioner. On the submissions made on behalf
of the Union of India that the High Court of Uttarakhand would have no
jurisdiction to entertain the writ petition challenging the decision of the
Chairman, CAT, to transfer the OA from Nainital Circuit Bench to
Principal Bench, New Delhi, it is vehemently submitted by Shri Shyam                D
Divan, learned Senior Advocate that under Article 226 (2) of the
Constitution of India any High Court can exercise jurisdiction under Article
226 provided a part cause of action has arisen in its jurisdiction irrespective
of whether the authority or government which passed the order is not
located within the jurisdiction of the said High Court. Thus, there can be
no doubt that the High Court can exercise the powers under Article 226,             E
if the cause of action, wholly or in part, arises in the territorial jurisdiction
of that High Court.
       5.1 It is submitted that the decision of this Court in the case of L.
Chandra Kumar (supra) while recognising the jurisdiction of a High
Court under whose jurisdiction the Tribunal falls, may not be read to be            F
limiting the jurisdiction of other High Court under Article 226(2), if
otherwise available. It is submitted that the decision of this Court does
not confer exclusive jurisdiction on the High Court under whose jurisdiction
the Tribunal falls. It is submitted that the judgment ought not to be read
as constricting the scope of Article 226(2). Therefore, to this extent the          G
decision of this Court in the case of Alapan Bandyopadhyay (supra)
may require reconsideration.
      5.2 It is further submitted by Shri Shyam Divan, learned Senior
Advocate that under the Constitutional scheme, the remedies under Article
226 and Article 227 are extremely valuable remedies available to citizens
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66             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                              [2023] 2 S.C.R.


A    where they reside or carry on business or are posted. The scheme does
     not require citizens to come exclusively all the way to Delhi to seek
     redressal. Thus, limiting the remedy under Article 226 is contrary to the
     spirit of the Constitution, contrary to the spirit and principle of access to
     justice and contrary to the basic structure of the Constitution which enables
     judicial review across the country and not at one concentrated location.
B
            5.3 It submitted that this Court, by way of a judicial order, ought
     not to take away jurisdiction from other high courts which are otherwise
     empowered under Article 226(2) to entertain a Writ Petition against the
     order of a Tribunal located in the territory beyond the territorial jurisdiction
     of the said high courts. It is further submitted that if such an interpretation
C    is taken to its logical conclusion, then it would result in undue hardship
     and inconvenience to the employees of the central government itself
     who are posted across the country.
            5.4 Shri Shyam Divan, learned Senior Advocate has taken us to
     the historical background of Article 226 of the Constitution of India and
D    the development of the law on the jurisdiction of the High Courts including
     the statement of objects and reasons to the Constitution (Fifteenth
     Amendment) Act, 1963 and the remarks of the then Law Minister at the
     time of introducing the amendment.
            5.5 It is submitted that in the subsequent decision of this Court in
E    the case of Kusum Ingots and Alloys Ltd. Vs. Union of India and
     Anr., (2004) 6 SCC 254, which was after the introduction of Article
     226(2), has observed and held that the High Court would have jurisdiction
     if a part of the cause of action arises in its jurisdiction irrespective of
     location/residence of the authority.
F           5.6 It is submitted that this Court in the case of Alchemist Ltd.
     and Anr. Vs. State Bank of Sikkim and Ors., (2007) 11 SCC 335,
     noting the development of law in relation to the territorial jurisdiction of
     the High Courts under Article 226 has held that “the legislative history of
     the constitutional provisions, therefore, makes it clear that after 1963,
G    cause of action is relevant and germane and a writ petition can be instituted
     in a High Court within the territorial jurisdiction of which cause of action
     in whole or in part arises.”
            5.7 It is further submitted that the observations made by this Court
     in the case of L. Chandra Kumar (supra) that all decisions of tribunals
     would be subject to scrutiny before a Division Bench of the High Court
H
              UNION OF INDIA v. SANJIV CHATURVEDI                              67
                         [M. R. SHAH, J.]

within whose jurisdiction the tribunal concerned falls, is not an exclusion    A
of the jurisdiction of the other high courts which may have jurisdiction,
particularly, under Article 226(2) of the Constitution of India. It is
submitted that therefore, the judgment of this Court in the case of Alapan
Bandyopadhyay (supra) may require reconsideration.
     5.8 In support of his above request, he has made following                B
submissions: -
      (i)      The Judgement of this Court in the case of Alapan
               Bandyopadhyay (supra) arose out of an order passed by
               the Chairman, Central Administrative Tribunal exercising
               powers under Section 25 of the Administrative Tribunals         C
               Act, 1985 transferring the O.A. filed by the Respondent
               therein from the Calcutta Bench of the Central
               Administrative Tribunal to the Principal Bench at New Delhi.
               The said Transfer Order was quashed by the Calcutta High
               Court by allowing the Writ Petition filed by the Respondent
               therein.                                                        D

      (ii)     The Order of the Calcutta High Court was challenged by
               the Union of India on the ground that a challenge against
               the order passed in the Transfer Application by the Central
               Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench at New Delhi, was
               maintainable only before the High Court of Delhi as the         E
               Principal Bench of the Tribunal lies within its territorial
               jurisdiction.
      (iii)    This Hon’ble Court, referring to paragraph 99 of the
               Judgment in L. Chandra Kumar (supra), held that any
               decision of the Tribunal can only be subjected to scrutiny      F
               before a Division Bench of a High Court within whose
               jurisdiction the Tribunal concerned falls. Consequently, it
               was held that the jurisdiction lies with the High Court of
               Delhi since the Principal Bench of the Central Administrative
               Tribunal is located at New Delhi.                               G
        5.9 It is submitted that the relevant paragraphs from the judgment
of this Hon’ble Court in Alapan Bandyopadhyay (supra) are reproduced
herein below:
      “36. In view of the reasoning adopted the Constitution Bench in
      L. Chandra Kumar case [L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India,               H
68      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                            [2023] 2 S.C.R.


A    (1997) 3 SCC 261 : 1997 SCC (L&S) 577] held Section 28 of the
     Act and the “exclusion jurisdiction” clauses in all other legislations
     enacted under the aegis of Articles 323-A and 323-B, to the extent
     they exclude the jurisdiction of the High Courts under Articles
     226/227 and the Supreme Court under Article 32, of the
     Constitution, was held unconstitutional besides holding clause 2(d)
B
     of Article 323-A and clause 3(d) of Article 323-B, to the same
     extent, as unconstitutional.
     37. Further, it was held thus : (L. Chandra Kumar case [L.
     Chandra Kumar v. Union of India, (1997) 3 SCC 261 : 1997
     SCC (L&S) 577] , SCC p. 311, para 99) “99. … The jurisdiction
C    conferred upon the High Courts under Articles 226/227 and upon
     the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution is a part
     of the inviolable basic structure of our Constitution. While this
     jurisdiction cannot be ousted, other Courts and Tribunals may
     perform a supplemental role in discharging the powers conferred
D    by Articles 226/227 and 32 of the Constitution. The Tribunals
     created under Article 323-A and Article 323-B of the Constitution
     are possessed of the competence to test the constitutional validity
     of statutory provisions and rules. All decisions of these Tribunals
     will, however, be subject to scrutiny before a Division Bench
     of the High Court within whose jurisdiction the Tribunal
E    concerned falls.”
     (emphasis supplied)
     38. When once a Constitution Bench of this Court declared the
     law that “all decisions of Tribunals created under Article 323-A
F    and Article 323-B of the Constitution will be subject to the scrutiny
     before a Division Bench of the High Court within whose jurisdiction
     the Tribunal concerned falls”, it is impermissible to make any further
     construction on the said issue. The expression “all decisions of
     these Tribunals” used by the Constitution Bench will cover and
     take within its sweep orders passed on applications or otherwise
G    in the matter of transfer of original applications from one Bench
     of the Tribunal to another Bench of the Tribunal in exercise of the
     power under Section 25 of the Act.
     39. In other words, any decision of such a Tribunal, including the
     one passed under Section 25 of the Act could be subjected to
H
            UNION OF INDIA v. SANJIV CHATURVEDI                                  69
                       [M. R. SHAH, J.]

      scrutiny only before a Division Bench of a High Court within               A
      whose jurisdiction the Tribunal concerned falls. This unambiguous
      exposition of law has to be followed scrupulously while deciding
      the jurisdictional High Court for the purpose of bringing in challenge
      against an order of transfer of an original application from one
      Bench of Tribunal to another Bench in the invocation of Section
                                                                                 B
      25 of the Act.
      40. The law thus declared by the Constitution Bench cannot be
      revisited by a Bench of lesser quorum or for that matter by the
      High Courts by looking into the bundle of facts to ascertain whether
      they would confer territorial jurisdiction to the High Court within
      the ambit of Article 226(2) of the Constitution. We are of the             C
      considered view that taking another view would undoubtedly result
      in indefiniteness and multiplicity in the matter of jurisdiction in
      situations when a decision passed under Section 25 of the Act is
      to be called in question especially in cases involving multiple parties
      residing within the jurisdiction of different High Courts albeit           D
      aggrieved by one common order passed by the Chairman at the
      Principal Bench at New Delhi.”
       5.10 It is submitted that the Constitution Bench in L. Chandra
Kumar (supra) was dealing with a challenge to the constitutional
validity of Article 323-A(2d), Article 323- B(3d) of the Constitution of         E
India and Section 28 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 which
excluded jurisdiction of the Hon’ble Supreme Court under Article 32
and of the High Courts under Article 226. The final conclusion reached
by the Constitution Bench in L. Chandra Kumar (supra) at paragraph
99, was that:
                                                                                 F
      (a)    the power of Judicial Review guaranteed under Article 32
             and Article 226/227 is part of the inviolable basic structure
             of our constitution.
      (b)    the provisions under challenge were declared
             unconstitutional to the extent that they exclude the jurisdiction   G
             of the High Courts and the Supreme Court under Article
             226/227 and 32 of the Constitution of India respectively.
      (c)    However, it was held that all service matters must at the
             first instance go to the Administrative Tribunal and upon
             the tribunal delivering the judgment the same could be
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70             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                             [2023] 2 S.C.R.


A                  subjected to a challenge under the writ jurisdiction of the
                   High Court within whose jurisdiction the tribunal falls.
            5.11 It is submitted that judgment in the case of L. Chandra
     Kumar (supra) ought not to be read to have held that only the High
     Court under whose territorial jurisdiction the tribunal falls will have
B    jurisdiction to entertain a Writ Petition against the order of the said
     tribunal.
             5.12 The effect of the Judgment in Alapan Bandyopadhyay
     (supra) is that only the High Court under whose territorial jurisdiction
     the tribunal falls would have jurisdiction to entertain a Writ Petition against
C    the order of the said Tribunal.
            5.13 It is submitted that as is clear from the section dealing with
     the development of law relating to the territorial jurisdiction of the High
     Courts, the intent and purpose behind adding clause (2) under Article
     226 would be defeated if paragraph 99 of L. Chandra Kumar (supra)
D    is interpreted in such a manner.
            5.14 It is further submitted that the power of judicial review is an
     integral and essential feature of the Constitution and even a constitutional
     amendment cannot exclude the power of the high courts and the Supreme
     Court to exercise their power of judicial review and this power can
E    never be ousted.
            5.15 It is respectfully submitted that this Court, by way of a judicial
     order, ought not to take away jurisdiction from other high courts which
     are otherwise empowered under Article 226(2) to entertain a Writ Petition
     against the order of a Tribunal located in the territory beyond the territorial
F    jurisdiction of the said high courts.
           5.16 It is submitted that under the Constitutional scheme, all
     twenty-five High Courts have equivalent jurisdiction, and no discrimination
     or special treatment is envisaged to any particular High Court. This is
     one of the facets of independence of judiciary.
G           5.17 It is further submitted that if such an interpretation is taken
     to its logical conclusion, then it would result in undue hardship and
     inconvenience to the employees of the central government itself who
     are posted across the country. For example, if an application were to be
     filed by an aggrieved employee before the Ernakulam Bench of the
     Central Administrative Tribunal, and an Order for its Transfer to another
H
             UNION OF INDIA v. SANJIV CHATURVEDI                                    71
                        [M. R. SHAH, J.]

Bench were to be passed by the Principal Bench at Delhi, the aggrieved              A
would be forced to travel all the way from Ernakulam to Delhi to challenge
the Transfer Order and contest the case. As already submitted above,
this would defeat the very purpose of inserting Article 226(2) into the
Constitution with the specific intent of providing a cheap, effective and
efficacious remedy in law at the doorstep of the aggrieved person.
                                                                                    B
      5.18 It is therefore prayed that the decision of this Hon’ble Court
rendered in Alapan Bandyopadhyay (supra) case ought to be
reconsidered in light of the submissions made above.
        6. Regard being had to the important issue raised by Shri Shyam
Divan, learned Senior Advocate appearing on behalf of respondent No.                C
1 and the submissions made by Shri Tushar Mehta, learned Solicitor
General and having gone through the judgment(s) and order(s) passed
by this Court in L. Chandra Kumar (supra) and Alapan
Bandyopadhyay (supra) and that the issue involved is with respect to
the territorial jurisdiction of the High Courts and the effect of introduction
of Article 226(2) of the Constitution of India and the statement of the             D
Law Minister while introducing Article 226(2) of the Constitution referred
to hereinabove and that the issue involved affects a large number of
employees and is of public importance, we think it appropriate that the
matter involving the issue of territorial jurisdiction of the concerned High
Court to decide a challenge to an order passed by the Chairman, CAT,                E
Principal Bench, New Delhi should be considered by a Larger Bench.
Let the registry place the matter before the Chief Justice of India for
appropriate orders at the earliest so that the aforesaid issue is resolved
at the earliest.

                                                                                    F
Ankit Gyan                                       Matter referred to larger Bench.
(Assisted by : Abhishek Agnihotri, LCRA)




                                                                                    G




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