Srinagar: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has sought a file from the Commissioner/Secretary Irrigation and Flood Control (Jal-Shakti) to ascertain the service position of scores of daily-wagers of the department pending regularisation despite a court order of 2016.
Justice Rahul Bharti while adjudicating a robkar against Shaline Kabra, a senior UT bureaucrat, directed “to produce the file from the Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Jal-Shakti, Department whereby the process for compliance of the writ court judgment has been initiated and is being purportedly processed towards its compliance”.
The court further ordered “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 recorded “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 passed in writ petition- SWP No. 1579/2013 in terms whereof services of the writ petitioners on account of being daily-rated workers/work charged employees are mandated to be regularized under law… from the date each and every petitioner was respectively entitled thereto without consequential benefits.”
It said “three months’ time was made available by the writ court judgment at the end of the writ respondents to carry out the compliance. The requisite compliance has yet to come to make its realization from the end of the writ respondents and this contempt petition of January 2018 has overstretched along with patience of this court in putting up with routine excuses of the respondents to the contempt petition in carrying out the compliance of the writ court judgment.”
Exhausted of the “lame” excuses from the respondents’ side, the court, on September 11, 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 was perhaps lost to the concerned bureaucrats given the fact that even the Special Leave Petition (SLP) No. 3594/2023 came to suffer dismissal in terms of an order dated 18.03.2024 from the Supreme Court of India.
Now, “the latest excuse” put up before the High Court for earning time in carrying out the compliance is an intra-se communication between the Special Secretary to Government, Jal-Shakti, Department and Jahangir Dar, Government Advocate representing the respondents.
“This court is not interested to know as to what are the contents of the internal correspondence/communication”, Justice Bharti noted.
In terms of an order dated 11.11.2024, the High Court called upon Dar 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.
Today, the government advocate was not present on account of some personal reason and was represented by Syed Musaib, learned deputy government advocate.
The Advocate was directed to produce the file from the Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Jal-Shakti Department whereby the process for compliance of the writ court judgment has been initiated and is being purportedly processed towards its compliance.
The matter has been posted for this November 26.
