CAT directs top officer to remain present after HC upholds order   

Srinagar, Dec 14: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in Srinagar has directed J&K’s Principal Secretary Forest, Ecology and Environment to remain present before it on December 17 after the High Court of J&K and Ladakh dismissed the government’s plea challenging the tribunal’s order on implementation of the judgment regarding the pensionary benefits of a retired forest employee.

A division bench comprising M S Latif, Member (J), and Prasant Kumar, Member (A), mandated the officer’s appearance after it noted that the court was under the command of the Division Bench of the High Court to proceed in the contempt matter as expeditiously as possible.

Zahoor Ahmad Ahangar, a retired forest employee, in his contempt plea, is seeking the implementation of a judgment passed by the tribunal on May 8 last year, which directed the authorities to calculate his pension and other retirement benefits based on his superannuation date of June 30, 2019.

In its judgment on the government’s plea against a tribunal’s order seeking the personal appearance of the Principal Secretary to Government Forest, Ecology and Environment, the High Court observed that the entire petition had been filed to escape the proceedings of the contempt case pending before the tribunal.

The High Court dismissed the petition and imposed costs of Rs 10,000 on the government and directed it to pay the same to the petitioner for undergoing the trouble of engaging a counsel and filing a caveat to defend his case.

The court requested the tribunal to proceed as expeditiously as possible in the contempt case filed by the retired forest employee for the enforcement of the order dated May 8, 2023, passed by the tribunal.

“As such, the said judgment warrants the personal appearance of the Principal Secretary to Government, Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment, Srinagar, before this court on the next date of hearing to decide the contempt petition and for enforcement of order passed by this court on May 8, 2023, non-compliance whereof has given birth to this contempt petition,” the tribunal said.

The tribunal observed that the instant contempt petition arose out of non-compliance with the judgment passed on May 8, 2023, and multiple orders were passed from time to time in response to the petition.

The tribunal noted that despite the issuance of umpteen orders expressing anguish and pain, the respondents (authorities) never bothered to comply with the directions passed by the court on May 8, 2023, in the main case as also in the contempt petition filed afterwards.

“On an overall view of the matter, this court is yet again expressing its anguish and pain, the way the respondents have dealt with the orders of this court passed from time to time by exhibiting utter disrespect and brazen disobedience of the orders passed by it so far,” the court said.