Pending stay applications can justify interim protection, with recovery stayed until the authorities decide the application promptly.

Pending statutory appeals and the accompanying stay or waiver applications warranted prompt administrative disposal, and the Court directed the authorities to decide the stay application preferably within one month after filing of the certified copy of the order. Until that application is decided, recovery proceedings arising from the impugned order were stayed, granting interim protection to the petitioner. The writ petition was disposed of at the admission stage without examination of the merits because the appeal and stay proceedings were already pending.

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Issues: Whether the pending stay or waiver applications in the departmental appeal and tribunal appeal should be directed to be decided expeditiously, and whether recovery proceedings should remain stayed meanwhile.

Analysis: The writ petition was disposed of at the admission stage without entering into the merits because the statutory appeals and stay or waiver applications were already pending. In view of the pendency of those applications, the Court directed the concerned authorities to dispose of the stay or waiver application preferably within one month after filing of the certified copy of the order. The Court also granted interim protection by staying recovery proceedings arising from the impugned order until disposal of the stay application.

Conclusion: The petitioner was granted interim relief, with recovery stayed until the stay application is decided and the authorities directed to decide the application within the stipulated time.

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