Writ petition rendered infructuous upon cessation of cause of action due to efflux of time.

The petitioner, Ishwar Mirjha, filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenging an order dated 20.08.2019 passed by the Collector, District Bemetara (Respondent No. 2).

The petitioner further challenged the legality of proceedings adopted by the Sub Divisional Officer and Tahsildar (Respondents No. 4 and 5) regarding his removal from a post, seeking both the setting aside of the impugned order and financial compensation for the removal.

During the pendency of the petition, several years elapsed. At the hearing on 01.04.2026, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that due to the efflux of time and intervening developments, the cause of action had ceased to exist.

1. Whether the reliefs prayed for in the writ petition survived for adjudication in light of subsequent developments and the passage of time.

2. Whether the petition should be dismissed as infructuous.

The Court applied the principle of "infructuousness" regarding writ jurisdiction.

Under this principle, when the subject matter of a petition or the relief sought loses its relevance or becomes impossible to grant due to subsequent events or the passage of time, the Court ceases to have a live interest to adjudicate and may dismiss the matter without a merit-based review.

The Court's reasoning was based primarily on the consensus between the parties.

The counsel for the petitioner explicitly stated that the original reliefs no longer survived for consideration because the cause of action had ceased to exist during the litigation's pendency.

This position was corroborated by the State’s counsel, who agreed that no effective adjudication was required under the current circumstances.

Upon reviewing the record, the Court determined that the petition had lost its efficacy and that any decision on the merits would be academic, as nothing remained for active adjudication.

The Court declined to grant the prayers for setting aside the 2019 order or awarding compensation. Accordingly, the petition was dismissed as infructuous.