Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka v. M. Habeeb (D) by LRs
Background
A single judge of the Karnataka High Court passed an order on 15 April 2008 in W.P. No. 3502 of 2006. The State of Karnataka challenged that order in a writ appeal, which was still pending. Even so, the High Court on 5 July 2012 (in W.P. No. 8608 of 2011) directed that the 2008 order be implemented.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court set aside the High Court's 5 July 2012 order. Because the State's writ appeal against the 2008 order was still undecided, the Court held that the implementation direction should not have been passed. It clarified that the High Court must not take into account any observations made in the impugned order, and that the writ appeal must be finally decided on its merits. The civil appeal was disposed of with no order as to costs, and pending applications were disposed of.
Lesson Learnt
A court should not enforce an earlier decision while an appeal against that same decision is still pending. The pending appeal has to be decided first, on its merits.