REGISTRAR HIGH COURT MADRAS Vs. T VELUMURUGAIAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE respondent herein was a Deputy Registrar in the Court of Small Causes, Madras . He was transferred and posted as Head Clerk, Court of the Chief Judicial magistrate, Tiruchirapalli by an order of this Court dated 17. 1. 1994. THE respondent filed a writ petition, W. P. No. 1233 of 1994, on 21. 1. 1994. It was admitted by a learned single Judge of this Court on 25. 1. 1994. In the petition for stay, notice was ordered and it was directed to be posted on 31. 1. 1994. THE matter was actually posted on 3. 2. 1994, but did not reach on that date. It was heard on 4. 2. 1994 and interim stay was granted by the learned single Judge. THE government Pleader who represented the appellants herein prayed for time to file counter and the matter was adjourned to 14. 2. 1994. But even before that the appellants filed a petition to vacate the interim stay and got in listed on 11. 2. 1994. On that date, the learned single Judge after hearing the parties, passed an order that the first appellant herein was trying to overreach this court and its powers under Art. 226 of the Constitution and, therefore, he was not inclined to hear the petitions for stay to vacate the stay and directed the first appellant to put back the writ petitioner (respondent herein) to his original place in pursuance of the earlier order of interim stay dated 4. 2. 1994. Aggrieved by the said order, the appellants filed writ appeal w. A. No. 290 of 1994, on 16. 2. 1994. After notice, the appeal was heard by a division Bench of this Court on 2. 3. 1994.

(2.) THE respondent herein filed a memo before the Bench to the effect that he would join duty at Trichy within one week therefrom as per the order of transfer and also send a representation to this Court regarding his grievances against the said order which may be sympathetically considered and ordered within a time limit as may be stipulated by this Court. On the basis of the memo, the Division Bench took the view that nothing survived for further hearing in the matter. Though the writ petition was also posted with the writ appeal, the Division Bench disposed of only the writ appeal and directed the writ petition to be posted before the learned single Judge for final disposal. THE Division Bench expressed its opinion that in view of the memo filed by the respondent herein, there was nothing to be considered by the court on the merits of the contentions as to the validity of the transfer order.

(3.) ONCE a person is made a party to a judicial proceeding, whether he is administrative head of a court or not, he is entitled to challenge the correctness of the judicial order made in that proceeding before an appropriate forum. That is what has been done in this case by the registrar, High Court, Madras before a Division Bench of this Court in w. A. No. 290 of 1994. The Registrar cannot be blamed for filing a writ appeal against the judicial order on the ground that he should have implicitly obeyed the order of the learned single Judge. If that principle is accepted then there can be no question of anybody filing an appeal against any order of a learned single Judge of this Court as every party to a proceeding is bound to obey a judicial order passed in that proceeding, whether he is Registrar of this Court or not. That will deprive the party's right to file appeals against the judicial orders.