Tanvi Pilane
Published on: Monday 7, 2022 at 14:00 IST
Bench of Justices S.V Gangapurwala and S.G Dige of the Bombay High Court considered the Right of Authorities to act as per their discretion which is an aspect of the Doctrine of Pleasure. The Bench held that the of pleasure does not enable an authority to be arbitrary.
On 31st January 2020, a notification was issued by the State Government under the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Act, 1976 that the appointment of the Petitioner as the Part-Time Chairman of Aurangabad Housing and Development Board, Aurangabad had been cancelled.
The Petitioner submitted in his Plea that though Section 12(2) of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Act,1976 gives the State Government the power to remove the President, Vice-President or any Non-official Member from his office prior to the end of their office term, such powers were not unfettered, The State Government has to notify its reasons while exercising its powers.
The Petitioner relied upon the Judgements in the following cases: B.P. Singhal Vs Union of India reported in 2010(6) SCC 331, Jeevanrao Vishwanathrao Gore Vs State of Maharashtra and others reported in 2015(5) Mh.L.J. 375, Dnyaneshwar Digamber Kamble Vs State of Maharashtra and others reported in 2016(1) Mh.L.J. 602 and Sampat Paraji Jawalkar and others Vs The State of Maharashtra and others in Writ Petition No.2949 of 2015 and other connected matters (decided on 04.02.2016).
The Bench noted that in the case of B.P Singhal (supra) the Honorable Supreme Court had observed that there is nothing like unfettered discretion or unaccountable action in a place where the Rule of the Law prevails.
The need for reason always exists. In the ‘At Pleasure’ the withdrawal of pleasure cannot be at the sweet will, whim, and fancy of the Authority, but can only be for valid reasons.
Thus, since no reason had been given by the State Government for the removal of the Petitioner, the notification dated 31.01.2020 was quashed and set aside by the court.
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