The Chhattisgarh High Court at Bilaspur on Friday witnessed an unusual but not uncommon turn of events. A series of writ petitions, including the one filed by Smt. Anita Thakur and several others against the State of Chhattisgarh, came up before Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey. But instead of lengthy arguments, the proceedings ended rather abruptly.
Background
These petitions, grouped together due to their similarity, were filed years ago by a large number of cooks, peons, watermen, and watchmen from various districts like Korba, Balrampur, and Jashpur. They were challenging recruitment and service-related grievances under the Department of Aadim Jati and Anusuchit Jati Vikas (Tribal and Scheduled Caste Development).
For the petitioners, senior advocate H.S. Ahluwalia was on record. The State was represented by Deputy Government Advocate Shailja Shukla. The matter had been pending since 2017, causing much expectation among the petitioners, many of whom had traveled from remote tribal belts to Bilaspur.
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Court's Observations
As the case was called out, Mr. Ahluwalia rose but surprised everyone present by stating, ''I have no instructions from my clients.'' The bench paused for a moment, and then Justice Pandey remarked that in such a situation the Court could not proceed with the petitions.
The bench observed,
''Recording the submission made by learned counsel, these writ petitions are dismissed on this count alone.''
There was no deliberation on the merits of the petitions themselves.
Lawyers sitting in the gallery exchanged glances- some nodding as if to say this was inevitable given the long pendency and lack of follow- up by the petitioners.
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Decision
In the end, the Court dismissed all the connected writ petitions, including that of Smt. Anita Thakur, purely on the technical ground that the petitioners' lawyer had withdrawn citing lack of instructions.
With that, the courtroom moved on to the next matter, leaving the fate of dozens of petitioners uncertain. For them, the door remains open to approach the Court again, but only if they refile with proper legal backing.
Case Title: Smt. Anita Thakur vs. State of Chhattisgarh
Case Number: WPS No. 3645 of 2017
