Writ Petition Liable for Dismissal for Want of Prosecution Upon Non-Appearance of Petitioner

The petitioner, Jitendra Gupta, an Assistant Commissioner in the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste Development department, filed this writ petition against the State of Chhattisgarh and eleven other respondents.

The matter was called for hearing on June 29, 2026 before the High Court of Chhattisgarh.

Despite the case being called twice, neither the petitioner nor any legal representative appeared to argue the matter on behalf of the petitioner.

Whether the writ petition is liable to be dismissed on account of non-appearance and failure of the petitioner to prosecute the case.

The Court applied the procedural principle of "Dismissal for Want of Prosecution" under civil jurisprudence and the High Court Rules.

This principle dictates that if a petitioner/plaintiff fails to appear when the case is called for hearing, the Court is not obligated to decide the matter on merits and may dismiss the action to prevent the clogging of the judicial system by inactive litigations.

The Court observed that the matter was called up for hearing twice during the session.

Since no one appeared for the petitioner to present arguments or provide justification for the absence, the Court determined that it had "no other option" but to invoke its power to dismiss the petition for want of prosecution.

In the absence of the Petitioner’s counsel, the Court did not engage with the substantive merits of the Writ Petition.

Consequently, the Court ordered that the writ petition stands dismissed for want of prosecution.