COLONEL VIJYNATH JHA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Aggrieved by the denial of permanent secondment to the Directorate General of Quality Assurance ("DGQA") by the impugned order dated 17th December 2007 issued by the Ministry of Defence ("MoD"), the Petitioner has filed the present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution.

(2.) In response to the notice issued in the present petition on 4th September, 2018 the Respondents i.e. the MoD (Respondent No.1), the Secretary, Department of Defence Production ("DoDP") (Respondent No.2), Quality Assurance Selection Board ("QASB") (Respondent No.3), the DGQA - Respondent No.4 and the Military Secretary, Indian Army - Respondent No.5 have in the common counter-affidavit filed on their behalf by Respondent No.1 raised a preliminary objection that the petition is barred by laches. It is pointed out by the Respondents that the Petitioner challenged the impugned order dated 17th December, 2007 rejecting the statutory complaint dated 5th September, 2007 filed by the Petitioner under Section 27 of the Army Act, 1950 ("Act"). The Petitioner waited for 4 years and challenged the order first before the Armed Forces Tribunal ("AFT"), Lucknow. By an order dated 23rd August, 2012, the AFT rejected the petition on the ground that the AFT was not the right forum for adjudication of DGQA matters. The Petitioner then preferred Civil Appeal No.2020 of 2013 which was dismissed by the Supreme Court by a judgment dated 18th May, 2018 affirming the view of the AFT that the subject matter of the Petitioner before the AFT was beyond its purview. The Respondents submit that the petition is barred by laches as the Petitioner has failed to satisfactorily explain the delay of 4 years in approaching the AFT for relief.

(3.) The Petitioner has in para 9 of the rejoinder in response to para 17 of the counter-affidavit where the above preliminary objection is raised, stated as under: