Delhi HC to hear Alapan Bandyopadhyay's plea against Central Administrative Tribunal order on Jan 24

The Delhi High Court said on Monday that it will be hearing former West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay's petition against the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)'s principal bench on January 24. The order was passed by a single-judge bench of Justice Yogesh Khanna.

New Delhi:Responding to a petition filed by former West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay against Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), the Delhi High Court said on Monday that it will hear the matter on January 24. The petition challenges a CAT Principal branch order which transferred Bandyopadhyay's application from the Kolkata branch to itself. The order was passed by the single-judge bench of Justice Yogesh Khanna.

Advocate Kunal Memani, the former Chief Secretary's counsel in the case, said the order by the principal branch was in violation of natural justice, equity, and fair play, adding that the latter was not given even a chance to submit a written objection to the transfer petition.

"The Transfer Petition was allowed on the very first day of its listing. Even otherwise, the Impugned Order is contrary to the settled principles laid down under Section 25 of the Act, " the petition by Bandyopadhyay said.

The petition also cited Rule 6(2) of Central Administrative Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1987, saying Bandyopadhyay had a right to register his application before CAT's Kolkata bench.

The series of events, in this case, date back to May 31, 2021, when Bandyopadhyay retired, immediately after which the Centre initiated an inquiry against him for not appearing in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding damage caused by cyclone Yaas in West Bengal.

This led to an order for the ex-Chief Secretary to report in Delhi. However, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to relieve him at the time.

Bandyopadhyay proceeded to move CAT's Kolkata bench against the inquiry, which then at the request of the Center, was moved to the tribunal's principal bench in Delhi on October 21, asking the former chief secretary to report there the next day.

This was further challenged by Bandyopadhyay in the Calcutta High Court, which, commenting on October 29, had noted that the manner in which the CAT central bench transferred the case to itself favoured the central government.

The Centre, thereafter, moved the Supreme Court regarding the matter, which on January 6 set aside the Calcutta HC's decision, also granting Bandyopadhyay the chance to approach the jurisdictional court, in this case, Delhi HC.

The matter is currently pending at the Delhi HC and the court will be taking it forward on January 24.

With agency inputs