Writ petition dismissed with liberty to approach competent authority in view of efficacious alternative remedy.

The petitioner filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking to quash an impugned order dated 21.01.2020 passed by the Commissioner, Surguja

The petitioner further sought a direction for the Commissioner to decide a review petition in accordance with the law

During the proceedings, the petitioner’s counsel acknowledged the availability of an efficacious alternative remedy under the law and sought permission to withdraw the writ petition to approach the appropriate statutory authority

The State counsel expressed no objection to this request

1. Whether the writ petition is maintainable in light of an available efficacious alternative remedy

2. Whether the petitioner may be granted liberty to approach the competent authority and receive a credit for the period during which the writ petition remained pending

The Court applied the principle of "Exhaustion of Alternative Remedy," a self-imposed restriction where High Courts decline to exercise writ jurisdiction when a petitioner has access to an efficacious statutory remedy

The Court also recognized the principle of equity in limitation, ensuring that the time spent bona fide pursuing a remedy before a court lacking jurisdiction (or where the petition is withdrawn for an alternative forum) should be considered by the deciding authority to prevent the bar of limitation

The Court observed that the petitioner’s counsel explicitly sought to withdraw the petition to pursue a more appropriate legal channel

Given the consensus between the parties and the established judicial preference for utilizing statutory remedies before invoking extraordinary writ jurisdiction, the Court found it fit to allow the withdrawal

The Court reasoned that to ensure justice, the competent authority must decide the matter on its own merits, uninfluenced by the High Court's dismissal, and must specifically account for the duration the matter was pending before the High Court (from 2020 to 2026) when considering delays or limitation periods

It granted the petitioner liberty to approach the competent authority having jurisdiction

The Court further directed the concerned authority to consider and decide the proceedings expeditiously and in accordance with the law, without being influenced by the dismissal of the writ petition and while taking into account the period the petition remained pending before the High Court