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The Karnataka High Court has said that quasi-judicial authorities cannot reserve matters for orders or pass orders without intimating the parties of the same.

The order passed by Justice Suraj Govindaraj of the High Court on a plea seeking to quash an order passed on April 9, 2021 in revision petition under Section 136(3) of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964 by the Deputy Commissioner, says, 

"It is directed that whenever the Quasi Judicial Authority reserves a matter for further orders, the Quasi Judicial Authority fix a date for pronouncement of the order and pronounce the order on that day. If the orders are not ready on that day to adjourn the matter to another day by fixing the date for passing the orders and pronounce the same. Even thereafter when orders are required to be communicated, the same to be communicated by Registered Post Acknowledgement Due or Speed Post Acknowledgment Due, so that the necessary records are available to impute knowledge of the order on the person suffering the orders."

The Court was prompted to pass this order on the petition's contention that though the order is dated April 9, the petitioner came to know about the same much later.

Taking serious note of the same, the court said this was a common grievance for several litigants as quasi-judicial authorities hear the parties and reserve matter for orders without informing the next date.

The parties are not made aware even after an order is passed, the court said.

In this regard, the court observed,

“This is an issues which is usually faced by several persons like the petitioner in their proceedings, when the Quasi-Judicial Authority hears the parties and reserves the matter for orders without intimating next date. Thereafter, the orders are not sent by registered post but they are sent by ordinary post, resulting in delay in the petitioner approaching this Court. Furthermore, many a time, the said order goes unnoticed for years together resulting in the petition being filed challenging the same after several years. It is required that this issue be addressed at the highest level of the Government at the earliest.”

Case Title: Thingamba vs State of Karnataka and ors