1 wp8963-10 dmt IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 8963 OF 2010 Sunil Sadhu Gargote. .. Petitioner. Vs. The Director General of Police & Anr. .. Respondents. Mr. Kishor R. Jagdale for petitioner. Mr. A.B. Vagyani, AGP., for respondent nos. 1 to 3. CORAM: B. H. MARLAPALLE & U. D. SALVI, JJ. NOVEMBER 23, 2010. P.C. We have heard Mr. Jagdale, the learned counsel for the petitioner. 2. The petitioner was suspended and the suspension order came to be challenged in O.A. No. 1332 of 2009 before the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal. At the first instance by a common order dated 18.11.2009 the original applications were dismissed by the Tribunal. The The petitioner filed a review application being Review Application No. 10 of 2010 and the same was allowed on 5.8.2010. The Tribunal held that the order of suspension was issued by an officer who was not competent to do so and in any event he was not empowered to issue the suspension order by 2 wp8963-10 the appointing authority i.e., the Director General of Police. However, while setting aside the order of suspension, the Tribunal clarified that the appointing authority or the competent authority would be at liberty to take fresh action as per law. Consequently, a fresh suspension order came to be issued by the Director General of Police and hence, this petition. 3. It is well settled that if the order of suspension was vitiated on the ground that it was issued by an authority not competent to do so, the competent authority has the power to issue fresh suspension order and such a right cannot be taken away by the Tribunal. In our view, therefore, the Tribunal rightly clarified that the respondent authorities would be at liberty to issue fresh order as per law. 4. If the petitioner is aggrieved by the suspension order now issued by the Director General of Police on the ground that it is contrary to law, illegal or unwarranted, the challenge to the same in the first instance must lie by an original application before the Tribunal as is held by the Supreme Court in the case of L. Chandra Kumar vs. Union of India & Ors., AIR 1997 SC 1125. The petition stands disposed off accordingly. (U.D. SALVI, J.) (B. H. MARLAPALLE, J.)