Withdrawal of Defective Petition Allowed Subject to Payment of Costs as Condition for Refiling

The petitioner, an Area Manager for M/s Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (Pantaloons), filed a Writ Petition (Criminal) seeking to quash Criminal Complaint Case No. 32/Child Labour Cases/2025.

The complaint was filed by the Labour Office, Rajnandgaon, and was pending before the IInd District and Additional Sessions Judge.

The petitioner specifically sought to quash the complaint, the order of cognizance/summons dated 21.04.2025, and an arrest warrant issued on 02.02.2026.

During the hearing, the High Court observed that the petition was defective as it failed to mention the relevant Acts and Rules within the prayer.

1. Whether the writ petition was maintainable in its current form given the omission of specific statutory provisions in the prayer clauses.

2. Whether the petitioner should be permitted to withdraw the defective petition with liberty to file afresh, and if so, under what conditions.

The court applied the procedural principle that a petition must be properly drafted with specific reference to the governing Acts and Rules to be considered effective.

Furthermore, the court exercised its discretionary power to allow the withdrawal of a petition with liberty to refile, contingent upon the imposition of costs to deter procedural negligence and benefit social causes.

The Court noted a significant procedural infirmity: the petitioner had challenged a criminal complaint and subsequent judicial orders (cognizance and arrest warrants) without citing the "proper Act and Rules" in the prayer section.

Due to this defect, the Court deemed the petition "defective".

Upon this observation, the petitioner’s counsel requested to withdraw the matter to rectify the errors in a fresh filing.

The Court accepted this request but determined that the filing of a defective petition necessitated the imposition of a cost of Rs. 15,000/- to be paid to a social welfare institution.

This liberty was subject to the petitioner depositing a cost of Rs. 15,000/- with the Registry, intended for the Government Girls Observation Home, District Rajnandgaon.

The Court further ordered the return of certified annexures to the petitioner’s counsel upon the substitution of attested true copies.