Government clearance required before writ disputes between controlled public bodies can be brought to court.

A writ petition by a regional rural bank was held not maintainable without prior clearance from the High Powered Committee. Applying the settled principle governing disputes between Government departments and other public bodies under governmental control, the Court treated the bank as an instrumentality controlled by the Central Government and held that the clearance mechanism applied. It further held that the Committee could consider an interim arrangement while deciding permission to litigate, so the absence of interim powers did not defeat the procedure. The petition was dismissed for want of prior clearance.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition was maintainable in the absence of clearance from the High Powered Committee.

Analysis: The challenge was to a writ petition under Article 226 by a regional rural bank. The Court applied the Supreme Court's settled principle that disputes between Government departments, or between limbs of the Government and public sector bodies under governmental control, should not be carried to court without prior clearance from the High Powered Committee. Referring to the scheme of the Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976, the Court treated the petitioner-bank as an instrumentality under the control of the Central Government and held that the committee mechanism was applicable. The Court also rejected the objection that the committee lacked power to pass interim arrangements and held that an interim application could be considered while deciding permission to litigate.

Conclusion: The writ petition was not maintainable without prior clearance from the High Powered Committee and was dismissed.

Final Conclusion: The Court enforced the governmental clearance mechanism for inter-se disputes involving controlled public bodies and declined to entertain the writ petition on merits.

Ratio Decidendi: A writ petition between entities functioning as limbs of the Government is not maintainable in the High Court unless the prescribed High Powered Committee has first granted clearance to litigate.

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