BALI RAM CHAURASIA Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petition has been preferred seeking for a direction to the respondents to release the salary of the petitioner for the month from July, 1993 to February, 1994 amounting to Rs.32,000/- with interest.

(2.) This court is inclined to dismiss the petition only on the ground of delay and laches for the reason that the claim made is of the year, 1994 and the petitioner has for the first time raised the claim after a period of more than 23 years of service. What is pertinent to take note of the fact is that the petitioner is an educated person and is working as a Headmaster. If the people like the petitioner does not promptly raise a dispute for settlement of their grievance and seek for redressal of dispute after a period of more than 23 years, it cannot be said that the petitioner was legitimately pursuing his claim all this period and then filed the petition after an inordinate delay of 23 years.

(3.) The question of delay and laches came to be considered very recently by the Supreme Court in case of State of Uttaranchal and Another v. Shiv Charan Singh Bhandari and Others 1 2013 (12) SCC 179 in which the court has declined to exercise extraordinary jurisdiction in case the petitioner invokes jurisdiction of court with inordinate delay, and held as under :