Jaipur: A division bench of the Rajasthan High Court Friday stayed a single judge’s order directing Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) proceedings against Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (JVVNL) chairman-cum-managing director Arti Dogra in connection with a promotion dispute.The bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Shubha Mehta, passed the interim order while hearing a special appeal filed by JVVNL and Dogra. It also issued notice to the respondents, stayed the impugned order and further proceedings before the single judge, and called for the original records. The matter will be heard next on April 27.Appearing for the appellants, senior advocate R N Mathur, assisted by advocates Sandeep Singh Shekhawat and others, argued that the direction to initiate ACB proceedings was legally unsustainable and beyond the scope of the writ petition.“There were no allegations of corruption against the CMD in the original petition, which primarily related to a promotion dispute raised by respondent Ram Kailash Meena for the post of superintendent engineer (2022-23). Also, Arti Dogra was not a party before the single judge and was only asked to submit an affidavit in her official capacity regarding roster maintenance,” Mathur argued.The appellants further told the court that three departmental enquiries are pending against the writ petitioner — two involving major penalties and one minor — and no final decision has yet been taken by the competent authority.
Taking note of these submissions, the division bench observed that, prima facie, it found “no reason to direct initiation of ACB proceedings”.The case arises from a writ petition filed by Meena seeking promotion for 2022-23. During earlier hearings, the single bench had flagged delays in concluding departmental enquiries and, terming them unjustified, ordered ACB action against the CMD for not taking a timely decision.
