Locus Poenitentiae, Doctrine of

Once an administrative decision has taken legal effect, conferred benefits, and been acted upon for years, it cannot ordinarily be withdrawn to the detriment of the beneficiary unless illegality or want of competence in the original grant is shown.

Appellant was promoted as District and Sessions Judge (BS-21) on the recommendations of the Provincial Judicial Selection Board, (vide Notification dated 06.08.2012), however, vide subsequent Notification dated 27.09.2016 his promotion was ordered to be withheld from the year 2012 for a period of three years retrospectively

Valid promotion order had already been passed in appellant's favour, which created certain rights in his favour

Power of receding an order is available with the authority before taking a decisive step

The purpose behind such power is to retrace the wrong steps taken by the authority, with the exception that where the order has taken legal effect and in pursuance thereof certain rights have been created in favour of an individual, such an order cannot be withdrawn or rescinded to the detriment of his / her rights

Principle of animus revertendi or locus poenitentiae demand that when an order is acted upon and certain benefits have accrued to the person concerned under the order, the same cannot be withdrawn with retrospective effect to deprive that person of the accrued rights

Tribunal allowed the appeal against the orders imposing penalty of withholding promotion for a period of three years retrospectively pro forma promotion to the appellant

Appeal, was allowed, in circumstances.

The terms and conditions already settled between the parties, qua fixation of salaries, rendered the contracts as past and closed transactions by virtue of which certain vested rights were already accrued; this further brings forth the doctrine of locus poenitentiae, whereby the Executive is barred from unilaterally rescinding and retrieving the benefit availed by its recipients

Thus, any subsequent unilateral decisions taken by the State functionaries cannot supersede and/or replace the already agreed upon stipulations contained in the contracts to the disadvantage of the employees.

Such power remains with the relevant authorities to undo the action till a decisive step is taken or as long as certain rights are not created or the action is found to be patently illegal.

Such power remains with the relevant authorities to undo the action till a decisive step is taken or as long as certain rights are not created or the action is found to be patently illegal.

Once a benefit has accrued from legal source and it is availed by its recipients it can neither be transgressed nor rescinded thereafter, as such right becomes indefeasible and absolute.

Executive is barred by the rule of locus poenitentiae from unilaterally rescinding and retrieving the benefit availed by its recipients.

Doctrine was not a principle of law that an order once passed was irrevocable or was categorized as a past/closed transaction

Rather, if the order was illegal then perpetual rights could not be gained on the basis of an illegal order

Authority who was empowered to pass an order and take an action was also empowered to set aside, modify and vary such order or action subject to an exception, that was, if by such an order an action had been acted upon, thereby, creating a right in favour of the beneficiary of that order and in such event, such an order/action could not be set aside/modified so as to deprive the person of the said right to his disadvantage.

Such principle can be invoked only in respect of order which is legal and not in respect of any order which has been obtained on the basis of false and incorrect facts / information.

Any action/order which was contrary to constitution and law was not sustainable simply because it had attained finality and had become a past and closed transaction.

Once an order was passed and some steps were taken in pursuance of the order, then the principle of locus Poenitentiae would be applicable

Court, whose actions were expected to be within accordance with law, should adhere to all the applicable principles of law in dispensation of justice.

Award of benefit to a person in violation of law would not attract principle of locus poenitentiae.

Authority competent to grant a concession or to confer a benefit on a party or on an individual, could not rescind or retrace by withdrawing it at a stage when it had reached to a logical conclusion and the order had been acted upon whereby irreversible vested right had accrued to the beneficiary of the order

What was important to be determined was the legal sanction of law investing the Authority with powers to grant concession or confer benefit/benefits on a party or an individual.

Doctrine of locus poenitentiae would not apply when the original decision that was rescinded was made by a person not authorized to do so.

Locus Poenitentiae, Doctrine of When not applicable.

[Words and phrases].

Applicability.