Statutory appellate remedy bars writ interference where termination dispute raises factual issues and no jurisdictional defect is shown.

The A.P. Shops and Establishments Act, 1988 provides a complete appellate structure for termination disputes under Sections 47 and 48, including a further statutory appeal. Writ jurisdiction should not be used to bypass that remedy where the challenge turns mainly on disputed facts and the petitioner alleges neither an ultra vires order nor an inherent lack of jurisdiction or pleaded breach of natural justice. Because the petitioner had already invoked the statutory appellate process and could still pursue the second appeal under Section 48(3), the writ petition was held not maintainable and dismissed.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition was maintainable in view of the statutory appeal mechanism under the A.P. Shops and Establishments Act, 1988, and whether the first appellate authority acted without jurisdiction or in violation of natural justice so as to justify interference under writ jurisdiction.

Analysis: The statutory scheme under Sections 47 and 48 of the A.P. Shops and Establishments Act, 1988 provides a complete appellate hierarchy for termination disputes, including a second appeal against the appellate authority's decision. The challenge raised in the writ petition turned largely on disputed questions of fact, particularly the status of the deceased employee under Section 2(8) and the alleged missing documents and bias. The Court held that the case did not involve an order passed under an ultra vires provision, nor did it disclose inherent lack of jurisdiction in the first appellate authority or any pleaded breach of natural justice. Since the petitioner had already invoked the statutory appellate remedy and could still pursue the second appeal against the impugned order, the writ jurisdiction could not be used to bypass that remedy.

Conclusion: The writ petition was not maintainable and was dismissed, leaving the petitioner to avail the statutory second appeal under Section 48(3) of the Act.

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