Raipur, Oct 26: The Chhattisgarh High Court while hearing a case titled Saroj Sahu in WPC No. 3630 of 2021 versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Secretary, GeneralAdministration Department, Mantralaya, Atal Nagar, RaipurChhattisgarh has quashed an order imposing penalties on the litigants for allegedly carrying out a marriage function exceeding the maximum permissible attendance of attendees during COVID-19 in the year 2021.
The High Court held that the Sub-Divisional Magistrate lacks jurisdiction to unilaterally issue orders for the imposition of pecuniary penalties under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
The Single Bench of Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad held, “Evidently, under the Act of 2005, the Sub Divisional Magistrate lacks jurisdiction to unilaterally issue orders for the imposition of pecuniary penalties.
Under the scheme of the Act of 2005, a complaint must first be instituted and duly adjudicated before holding a person guilty. In the present case, no such complaint as contemplated under the Act of 2005 was ever lodged or adjudicated upon.
The direct imposition of fine, without the filing of a complaint and in the absence of due statutory adjudication, is entirely beyond the jurisdiction and competence of the authority concerned.”
It added that in view of the foregoing discussion, the imposition of penalties upon the respective petitioners is held to be contrary to law and unsustainable.
Accordingly, the impugned orders imposing penalties passed by the concerned Sub Divisional Magistrate in 11 each of the Writ Petitions are hereby quashed”, it ordered.
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