Rajasthan High Court Imposes Cost On State For Re-Litigating Settled Issue Despite 2013 Order

Rajasthan High Court imposed a cost of Rs. 10,000 on the State to be given to the respondents, for repeatedly challenging an issue already settled in 2013, instead of giving effect to the decision of the court.

The division bench of Justice Avneesh Jhingan and Justice Baljinder Singh Sandhu was hearing an intra court appeal filed against an order of the single judge passed in 2023 relying upon an earlier settled order of 2013.

The respondent was appointed as a PE teacher in 1985, whose services were regularized in 1992. A petition was filed by the respondent that his services prior to the year 1992 were not being considered for granting senior/selection scale benefits. This petition was decided in favour of the respondent in 2013.

Subsequently, the State unsuccessfully filed an intra court appeal, and thereafter since no Special Leave Petition was filed, the order attained finality in between parties. Despite this, the State did not pay the respondent as per the prescribed pay-scale from his initial date of appointment.

Resultantly, another petition was filed by the respondent in 2016 which was also allowed in 2023 based on the order passed in 2013, entitling the respondent to get the payment from his initial appointment date. Accordingly, directions were issued to the State for granting benefits of the prescribed pay-scale to the petitioner.

Against this decision, the present appeal was filed by the State, and it was submitted that the petition filed in 2016 was wrongly decided in the respondent's favour by relying on the 2013 case. It was argued that the 2013 decision was given without taking into account the circular of the department and break in service.

After hearing the contentions, the Court highlighted the fact that the 2013 order had attained finality, and it cannot be allowed to be challenged in this intra court appeal against the 2023 order. Since the 2013 order was unsuccessfully appealed, and thereafter no SLP was filed, the State accepted that order, and it attained finality.

Despite this, the order was not complied with by the State. The Court said, “the issue is being raked up again to challenge the order which had attained finality.”

Accordingly, the appeal was dismissed, and cost of Rs. 10,000 was imposed on the State to be paid to the respondents.

Title: State of Rajasthan & Anr. v Kamal Singh Chaudhary & Anr.

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Raj) 350

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