Orissa High Court
WP(C)/24715/2023 of BIKASH KUMAR AGRAWAL Vs STATE OF ODISHA on 23 June 2026
of 3 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK W.P.(C) No. 24715 of 2023 Bikash Kumar Agrawal …. Petitioner Mr. Rashmi Ranjan Swain, Advocate -versus- State of Odisha and others …. Opposite parties Mr. Debashis Tripathy, Additional Government Advocate CORAM: HON’BLE THE CHIEF
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
W.P.(C) No. 24715 of 2023
Bikash Kumar Agrawal
….
Petitioner
Mr. Rashmi Ranjan Swain, Advocate
-versus-
State of Odisha and others
….
Opposite parties
Mr. Debashis Tripathy, Additional Government Advocate
CORAM:
HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE
AND
HON’BLE MR JUSTICE MURAHARI SRI RAMAN
Order No.
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ORDER
23.06.2026
01.
1. A person, who has shown his intention not to continue with the sand sairat way back in the year 2023, is still grappling to have a final decision to be taken by the authority and the refund of the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD), which he is entitled to in this regard. Within a week from the date of the application, the response was made by the authority requisitioning certain documents to be submitted and also the personal appearance of the petitioner.
2. According to the petitioner, he submitted all the documents as requisitioned by the authority but he could not make himself personally present before the authority because of his health condition, as the attending doctor advised him for complete rest.
3. We do not find any physical appearance of this person. If the documents which are requisitioned can sufficiently put in rest the prayer so made, an unwilling person should not be permitted to continue, as the Government Exchequer is benefited by an operation of a sand sairat. The authorities are showing dormant attitude in responding to such queries and keeping the fate of an application in lurch.
4. It is improbable that the authorities would remain static for all time to come which has a larger impact in burdening the Government Exchequer. We do not find any fetter in surrendering the sand sairat, provided all the legitimate dues are duly liquidated by the holder thereof. The correspondences annexed to the writ petition do not evince an inkling of the pending amount nor any reflection therefrom would create such impression.
5. Be that as it may, if the petitioner intended to surrender, it is an ardent duty of the authority to take a prompt decision thereupon and cannot sleep in a slumber for all time to come. It would be an idle exercise in reverting back the petitioner to the domain of the authorities as it would again invite multiple litigations to be poured in the docket of the Court and, therefore, we decided to dispose of the writ petition granting the relief.
6. We direct the authorities to immediately refund the earnest money subject, however to the adjustment of any dues owed by the petitioner to the authorities as on the date of the submission of the application for surrender of the sand sairat along with an interest @ 6% from the date of commencement of one month after the date of the application for surrender till his actual payment. The entire exercise shall be completed within two months from the date of the communication of this order.
7. The writ petition is, accordingly, disposed of.
(Harish Tandon)
Chief Justice
(M.S. Raman) Judge
Sisira Digitally Signed Signed by: SISIRA KUMAR BEHERA Reason: Authentication Location: High Court of Orissa, Cuttack Date: 24-Jun-2026 19:19:35 Signature Not Verified