DARSHAN SINGH PARMAR v. UNION OF INDIA AND 4 ORS.
Discusses government's duty to act fairly and transparently, and the importance of legitimate expectations in reward schemes.
Court: Bombay High Court
Citation: 2025:BHC-OS:9293-DB
Decision Date: 24-06-2025
List of Laws
Constitution of India, 1949; Right to Information Act, 2005; General Principles of Law
- Constitution of India, 1949: The judgment references Article 226 of the Constitution of India, noting the petitioner's request for the court to issue a writ of certiorari, mandamus, or any other appropriate writ, directing the respondents to pay reward money. The court's power to issue such writs under Article 226 is the basis for the petitioner's plea.
- Right to Information Act, 2005: The judgment mentions that the petitioner applied for information under the Right to Information Act, claiming that substantial tax recoveries were made following his complaints. This highlights the petitioner's use of the RTI Act to gather information regarding the actions taken on his complaints and the subsequent tax recoveries.
- General Principles of Law: The judgment discusses the principle that if the government formulates a reward scheme, it should be operated fairly and transparently. It emphasizes that informers, based on whose information tax evaders are brought to book and taxes recovered, should not be made to run from pillar to post or otherwise suffer frustration. The court also notes that there must be no unreasonable delay in paying the determined reward amounts, and the practice of raising frivolous and belated objections to avoid legitimate payments must be eschewed. The judgment also touches upon the concept of legitimate expectation, noting that the department initially gave an impression to the citizens that upon receipt of the information from them, tax recovery is made, then in that event, a part of that recovery would be paid to such citizen as a reward and subsequently does not abide by the representation and pay the amount of reward, such a conduct would be against the interest of Revenue itself.
🔒 For Members Only