MEENA SARDAR Vs. LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Judgment of the Court was as follows : This is an application under Article 226 of the Constitution directed against an order of termination passed by the respondent No. 4 whereby the petitioner, a Home Guard, was terminated from the roll of A & N islands Home Guards Organization with immediate effect.

(2.) Heard Mr. B.K. Das, learned Advocate appearing for the petitioner and Mr. A. K. Ray, learned senior Advocate appearing on behalf of the respondents. Considered the materials on record.

(3.) At the very outset Mr. Ray appearing on behalf of the respondent authorities raised a preliminary objection about the maintainability of this application. According to Mr. Ray, against the impugned order of termination the petitioner ought to have moved before the Central Administrative Tribunal and this Court has no jurisdiction to entertain a writ application directly where the petitioner has not exhausted his remedy lying before the learned Tribunal. Mr. Das to resist such point strongly relied on an unreported decision of a Circuit Bench at Port Blair of this Hon'ble Court, passed in connection with WPCT No. 073 of 2003.