Srinagar- The High Court of J&K and Ladakh on Thursday directed the government to take “requisite steps on war footing” regarding the constitution of ‘State Forest Service’ in Jammu and Kashmir.
“We cannot leave the State of Jammu and Kashmir (now Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh), without there being any ‘State Forest Service’, for the constitution of ‘State Forest Service’ under Rule 2(g)(i) is sine qua non for supplying the vacancies in the J&K cadre as it exists in the Schedule appended to the Indian Forest Service (Fixation of Cadre Strength) Regulations, 1966,” a division bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Puneet Gupta said while upholding single bench’s 2019 judgment directing constitution of the State Forest Service.
“We also cannot permit the status quo to continue which permits the Gazetted Officers born of the J&K Forest Gazetted Service constituted by the State Forest Rules, 1970, only to take the benefit of induction into Indian Forest Service,” the Division Bench said, adding, “There could be other services which are also connected with forestry and deserve to be considered for induction along with Gazetted officers of the State Forest Gazetted Service.”
The Division Bench said that it was aware that the exercise has to be undertaken by the Union Territory and the ultimate approval is to be granted by the Central Government. “There could be no Mandamus (direction) to the State to include or exclude any service or a gazetted member thereof into or from the ‘State Forest Service’ nor do we intend to do so. Suffice it to say that a time has come when the Union Territory must fulfill the mandate of Rule 8 read with Rule 2(g)(i) of the Rules of 1966 and to take requisite steps to constitute ‘State Forest Service’ consisting of Gazetted Officers of different Gazetted Services connected with forestry,” the Court said, adding, “It is only if the service so constituted receives the approval of the Central Government, the members of such service would become entitled to be appointed by promotion to the Indian Forest Service constituted under the Rules of 1966.”
While upholding the single bench’s verdict, the Division Bench hasten to add that the requisite steps are required to be taken on a “war footing, else not only the appellants but other Gazetted members serving in different services of Union Territory connected with forestry, who may come within ‘State Forest Service’ to be constituted in terms of the judgment of the Writ Court (single bench), may suffer.”
“We are told that Union Territory has already undertaken requisite exercise for constitution of ‘State Forest Service’ and Central Government is likely to be approached for approval shortly,” the court said, adding, “We expect the Union Territory Government to be alive to the situation and would proceed in the matter with the requisite promptitude.”
The court also made it clear that appointments by promotion to Indian Forest Service made so far in the absence of validly constituted ‘State Forest Service’ shall remain valid and would not be called in question on that score by anyone and for such purpose, the ‘State Forest Service’ for the State of Jammu and Kashmir shall be deemed to have been constituted upto the date on which the judgment was delivered by the single bench— 5 April 2019.
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