Orissa High Court Awards Rs 5 Lakh Compensation for Litigation Delay Injustice
The Orissa High Court has delivered a landmark judgment, awarding Rs 5 lakh in compensation to a 47-year-old man, holding that prolonged litigation caused him irreparable injustice after his claim for a railway job became infructuous due to age.
Bench Invokes Equity and Jurisprudence Principles
A two-judge bench comprising Justices Krishna Shripad Dixit and Chittaranjan Dash ruled that although the man was now over-age and could not be granted employment, he deserved monetary relief as he was not responsible for the delay in adjudication.
"If a scrupulous litigant is prejudiced because of the long pendency of his litigation, the Court can do justice … and an argument to the contrary would result in right thinking people losing faith in the judicial process," the Bench observed on March 24.
The Bench added, "In our considered view, a sum of Rs Five Lakh only, if paid to the Petitioner, injustice done to him can be undone, at least to some extent."
Case Background and Legal Journey
The case originated in 2009 when the man's father, an officer in East Coast Railway's Sambalpur division, sought his appointment for a Group D post under the general manager's discretionary quota. The request was rejected in 2012 citing his higher qualifications—a BA LL.B. degree and computer skills—and a policy change that removed such discretionary powers. The required qualification for the Group D post was Class X.
Subsequently, his plea before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Cuttack Bench was dismissed in 2017 on grounds of "efflux of time." The High Court on July 12, 2022, set aside that order and remitted the matter back to the Tribunal for fresh adjudication.
However, on August 29, 2022, the CAT this time declined to interfere, endorsing the East Coast Railway's contention that he was over-age. The man was 43 years old at that time. In the same year, he filed a fresh petition in the High Court challenging the Tribunal order.
Court's Emphasis on Systemic Delay and Justice
The Bench, invoking principles of equity, stated that courts must step in to remedy injustice caused by systemic delay. "After all, all standard Books on Jurisprudence including the one by Amartya Sen's 'The Idea of Justice' broadly support this view," the Judges added.
Quashing the tribunal's order, the court directed authorities to pay the compensation within eight weeks, with a stern warning: failure to comply "would attract an additional levy of Rs 500 per day for the first 30 days and Rs 1,000 per day thereafter, recoverable personally from erring officials."
This ruling underscores the judiciary's role in addressing grievances arising from procedural delays, ensuring that litigants are not unfairly penalized by factors beyond their control.
