Efficacious alternative remedy limits writ jurisdiction unless jurisdictional error or natural justice breach is shown.

Where an efficacious statutory appeal is available, writ relief under Article 226 is ordinarily declined unless the impugned action is wholly without jurisdiction or involves a clear breach of natural justice. The Court noted that the order under Section 32 of the Rajasthan Co-operative Societies Act had been passed after hearing the concerned bank, and no hearing was required to be given to the petitioner. It further held that admission of a writ petition does not create an inflexible right to a merits decision where an alternate statutory remedy exists, so relegation to the appellate forum was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition could be entertained under Article 226 of the Constitution when an efficacious statutory appeal was available under the Rajasthan Co-operative Societies Act and no case of lack of jurisdiction or breach of natural justice was shown.

Analysis: The availability of an efficacious alternate remedy ordinarily weighs against invocation of the writ jurisdiction, and interference is justified only in exceptional cases such as want of jurisdiction or total breach of natural justice. The impugned order under Section 32 of the Rajasthan Co-operative Societies Act had been passed after hearing the concerned bank, and no hearing was required to be given to the petitioner. The Court found that none of the authorities relied upon by the appellant displaced the normal rule against bypassing the statutory appellate remedy. It also held that there is no inflexible rule that a writ petition, once admitted, must necessarily be decided on merits despite the existence of an alternate remedy; the decision remains one of judicial discretion depending on the facts of each case.

Conclusion: The relegation of the petitioner to the statutory appeal was upheld, and no ground was made out for interference in writ jurisdiction.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an efficacious statutory remedy exists, the High Court should ordinarily decline writ relief unless the impugned action is shown to be wholly without jurisdiction or in clear violation of natural justice, and admission of the writ does not by itself bar relegation to the statutory forum.

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