The State Of Madhya Pradesh vs Dharmendra Rathore

3. For deciding the appeals, it shall be sufficient to refer to the facts in Civil Appeal – The State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors. Vs. Dharmendra Rathore. The Additional District Magistrate, Gwalior has passed an order dated 26.02.2013 externing the respondent for a period of one year from the district concerned. An appeal was filed by the respondent against the order of the Additional District Magistrate before the Commissioner, Gwalior Division, which too was dismissed on 17.06.2013. A writ Petition No. 4818 of 2013 was filed by the respondent challenging the order of the Additional District Magistrate as well as of the Commissioner, Gwalior Division. The main ground taken by the respondent before the High Court 2 was that the Additional District Magistrate had no jurisdiction to pass the order under the Madhya Pradesh Rajya Suraksha Adhiniyam, 1990 (hereinafter referred to as “Adhiniyam, 1990”). The order can be passed only by District Magistrate. Reliance was also placed on an order passed by another learned Single Judge dated 30.05.2013 in Writ Petition No. 8555/2012 – Arvind Sharma Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors. The High Court relying on judgment of Arvind Sharma Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors. allowed the writ petition holding that Additional District Magistrate was incompetent to pass the order under the Adhiniyam, 1990. Writ Appeal was filed against the judgment of the High Court by the State of Madhya Pradesh being Writ Appeal No. 71 of 2014. By judgment and order dated 20.06.2014, the writ appeal has been dismissed by Division Bench relying on its judgment in Writ Appeal No. 244 of 2013 dated 30.10.2013 – State of Madhya Pradesh Vs. Arvind Sharma, in which judgment, the High Court after considering the provisions of Sections 3, 13 and 29 3 of the Adhiniyam, 1990 and relying on the Constitution Bench judgment of this Court in Ajaib Singh Vs. Gurbachan Singh, AIR 1965 SC 1619 held that the order could not have been passed by any authority lower than the rank of District Magistrate. State aggrieved by the order has come up in this appeal.

14. Applying the ratio of the above judgment in the facts of the present case, it is clear that in the Statutory Scheme of the Adhiniyam, 1990, there is no provision, which prohibit passing an order by an officer lower than the rank of District Magistrate rather under Section 13, there is no limitation on the State Government while specially empowering an officer of the State to exercise the power of District Magistrate under Sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 and further under Section 18, the powers and duties of District Magistrate can be directed to be exercised or performed by Additional District Magistrate or Sub

-Divisional Magistrate for such areas as may be specified in the order. Thus, the Scheme of the Adhiniyam, 1990 clearly contemplate exercise of the power of District Magistrate under Sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 by an Additional District Magistrate or Sub

-Divisional Magistrate. The Notification dated 05.03.2003 was not under challenge in the writ petition.

16. In result, the appeals are allowed. The impugned judgments of the High Court are set aside.