Interim stay vacation applications must be decided before enforcing compliance through contempt proceedings.

In brief

The question

1. Whether the High Court of Uttarakhand has territorial jurisdiction to entertain a challenge against an order passed by the Principal Bench of the CAT, New Delhi.

The court held

The Court held that it possessed territorial jurisdiction as the cause of action arose within Uttarakhand.

It also directed

The Court ruled that the Tribunal must decide the stay vacation application before compelling compliance via contempt.

The High Court quashed the portion of the order dated 22.05.2026 that directed compliance within two days and ordered that contempt proceedings remain adjourned until the stay vacation applications are decided. The writ petitions were disposed of accordingly.

01Facts

The respondents, IPS officers of the Uttarakhand Cadre, were nominated for central deputation and subsequently appointed to the ITBP and BSF respectively.

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They challenged their relieving orders before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Principal Bench, New Delhi. On 07.04.2026, the CAT stayed the implementation of the appointment and relieving orders.

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Despite the State filing counter-affidavits and applications for vacation of the stay, the CAT, on 22.05.2026, granted the respondents more time to reply to the stay vacation application while simultaneously directing the State to report compliance of the interim stay within two days under threat of contempt proceedings.

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02Issues

i.1. Whether the High Court of Uttarakhand has territorial jurisdiction to entertain a challenge against an order passed by the Principal Bench of the CAT, New Delhi.

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ii.2. Whether the Tribunal was legally justified in insisting upon the compliance of an interim order while a stay vacation application was pending and after the State had placed its version on record.

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03Law Applied

Article 226(2) of the Constitution, which vests jurisdiction in a High Court if the cause of action arises in part within its territories.

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The Constitution Bench decision in L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India regarding the power of judicial review.

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Union of India v. Alapan Bandyopadhyay regarding jurisdiction over Section 25 transfer orders.

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Principles from State of J&K v. Mohd. Yaqoob Khan and Modern Food Industries (India) Ltd. v. Sachidanand Dass, which establish that a stay vacation application should generally be disposed of before insisting on compliance through contempt proceedings.

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Provisions in the judgment · 6 · Linked ones open on LawLens

Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 Section 4 Section 5 Section 18 Section 19 Section 25 Section 28

04Reasoning

On jurisdiction, the Court reasoned that since the respondents are Uttarakhand cadre officers and the "functional operation" of the interim order (reinstatement/posting) would occur within Uttarakhand, a major part of the cause of action arose there.

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The Court distinguished Alapan Bandyopadhyay, noting that the Supreme Court's restriction in that case specifically applied to administrative transfer orders under Section 25, not to original applications where the Principal Bench exercises jurisdiction over Uttarakhand matters via notification.

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On the merits, the Court found the CAT's procedure "legally unsustainable." Since the State had already filed its counter-affidavit and a stay vacation application, the Tribunal’s decision to adjourn the vacation plea while mandating compliance within 48 hours effectively rendered the State's challenge infructuous and caused serious prejudice.

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