Bombay High Court
SANDEEP TATYARAO PATANGEversusTHE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA THE. THE ADDL. CHIEF SECRETARY FOOD AND DRUGS ADMINISTRATION AND ANR
- Decided
- Disposal
- Disposed Off
Holding
The Court did not decide the merits but directed the Tribunal to dispose of the pending application with a reasoned order by a specified date and to pass interim relief if it cannot do so.
Summary
The petitioner, Sandeep Tatyarao Patange, challenged a transfer order dated 12 June 2026 that placed Respondent No.2 in his position at Thane, Zone‑3, alleging that other vacancies existed and he should not be transferred. He filed Original Application No.583 of 2026 before the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) and sought interim relief, which the MAT did not grant in its order dated 13 July 2026. The petitioner then approached the Bombay High Court by way of a writ petition under Article 226, contending that the Tribunal’s failure to pass an interim order caused prejudice. The Court, without expressing any view on the merits, observed that undue delay in disposing of the matter would prejudice both parties. Accordingly, the Court directed the MAT to dispose of the Original Application with a reasoned order by 16 October 2026, and if that is not possible, to at least pass a reasoned order on the interim relief sought. The writ petition was therefore disposed of with these directions.
Issues considered
- Whether the High Court can compel the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal to pass an interim relief order in a pending transfer dispute
- Whether the Tribunal’s delay in disposing of the Original Application amounts to procedural prejudice warranting judicial intervention
Subjects
- Transfer order
- Administrative Tribunal
- Interim relief
- Writ petition
- Article 226
- Delay in adjudication
- Reasoned order
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO.11890 OF 2026
Sandeep Tatyarao Patange .. Petitioner
Vs.
State of Maharashtra,
Through the Addl. Chief Secretary,
Food and Drug Administration and Anr. .. Respondents
Mr. Rajeshwar G. Panchal with Mr. Sarang S. Gundajwar and
Mr. Vivekanand G. Panchal, Advocates for the Petitioner.
Smt. R.A. Salunkhe, AGP for the Respondent-State of Maharashtra.
Mr. Chaitanya Purankar with Ms. Anshu Agrawal, Advocates, i/by Anshu
Agrawal & Co., for Respondent No.2.
CORAM : SUMAN SHYAM &
GAUTAM A. ANKHAD, JJ.
DATE : 5th October, 2026.
P.C. :
1. Heard Mr. Panchal, learned counsel for the Petitioner. Also heard
Smt. Salunkhe, learned AGP for Respondent No.1 and Mr. Purankar,
learned counsel appearing for Respondent No.2.
2. The Petitioner is aggrieved by the order dated 13 th July, 2026
passed by the learned Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, Mumbai in
Miscellaneous Application No.383 of 2026 arising out of Original
Application No.583 of 2026 primarily on the ground that the learned
Tribunal has not passed any order on the prayer for interim relief made
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by the writ Petitioner/Applicant. It appears from the projections made
through the record of this case that the writ Petitioner, as Original
Applicant, has assailed the transfer order dated 12th June, 2026 by means
of which Respondent No.2 was transferred and posted in place of the
Petitioner at Thane, Zone-3. The contention of the Petitioner is that there
are other vacancies available where the Authorities could have
accommodated the Petitioner himself in Thane, Zone-3 but the same has
not been done.
3. From a perusal of the order dated 13th July, 2026, it appears that
the learned Tribunal is proposing to finally dispose of the Original
Application at the stage of admission/hearing. However, in a matter of
this nature, undue delay in issuing an order either in favour or against the
Applicant would cause prejudice not only to the Applicant/Petitioner but
also to Respondent No.2 who is supposed to join in that post.
4. In view of the above, without expressing any opinion on the merits
of the case, we dispose of this Writ Petition with the following
directions:-
(i) The learned Tribunal shall dispose of Original
Application No.583 of 2026, which is fixed on 16th
October, 2026, by a reasoned order.
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(ii) If the same is not possible for any reason, the learned
Tribunal may pass a reasoned order in Miscellaneous
Application No.383 of 2026 whereby the writ
Petitioner/Applicant has made a prayer for ad-interim
relief.
[ GAUTAM A. ANKHAD, J. ] [ SUMAN SHYAM, J. ]
Digitally
signed by
SNEHA SNEHA
ABHAY DIXIT
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DIXIT 2026.10.06
18:29:20
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