Srinagar- The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has warned to direct personal appearance of two senior officers if a file sought by it reflecting compliance to its 2016 directions regarding regularisation of services of the daily rated workers and work-charged employees was not produced before it.
“The Government of UT of J&K through all its departments concerned, be it General Administration Department (GAD), the Public Health Engineering/Irrigation and Flood Control Department and the Finance Department have consumed all conceivable excuses and exigencies with respect to matter of compliance of the writ court judgment dated 11.08.2016 ….in terms whereof services of the writ petitioners on account of being daily rated workers/work charged employees are mandated to be regularized under the aegis of Jammu and Kashmir Daily Rated Workers/Work Charged employees (Regularization) Rules 1994, i.e, SRO 64 dated 24th March,1994 from the date each and every petitioner was respectively entitled thereto without consequential benefits,” a bench of Justice Rahul Bharti said while hearing a contempt plea filed in 2018.
“………The requisite compliance has yet to come to make its realization from the end of the writ respondents (authorities) and this contempt petition of January 2018 has overstretched along with patience of this Court in putting up with routine excuses of the respondents (authorities concerned) to the contempt petition in carrying out the compliance of the writ Court judgment,” the court said, adding, “Exhausted of the lame excuses from the respondents’ side, this Court, in terms of an order dated 11.09.2024, came to frame rule against one of named contemnors but even this indulgence has not made the things to happen at the end of the respondents except saying that the matter has been forwarded to the GAD for seeking the final approval as well as relaxation of the rules to implement the judgment dated 11.08.2016.”
The seriousness of recurring noncompliance, the court said, is “perhaps lost to the authorities given the fact that even the Special Leave Petition came to suffer dismissal in terms of an order dated March 18 this year from the Supreme Court of India.”
“ In terms of an order dated 11.11.2024, this Court called upon ….GA (Government advocate) to get words from the Financial Commissioner, Jal-Shakti, Department and the Principal Secretary to Government, Finance Department with respect to time line within which the letter and spirit compliance of the writ Court judgment is to come forth,” the court said and directed the Government Advocate to produce the file from the Commissioner Secretary to Jal-Shakti, Department whereby the process for compliance of the court judgment has been initiated and “is being purportedly processed towards its compliance.”
“Let requisite file be produced on the next date of hearing failing which this Court shall be constrained to direct personal appearance of the Financial Commissioner as well as Principal Secretary to Government, Finance Department, UT of J&K,” the court said and ordered listing of the case on November 26.
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