CAT seeks personal appearance of Secretary, Mission Director over non-compliance
Srinagar, Sept 05: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Srinagar Bench has ordered the personal appearance of the Commissioner Secretary of the Social Welfare Department and the Mission Director of ICDS for their persistent failure to comply with a judicial order dated March 20, 2023, despite it being upheld by the Jammu & Kashmir High Court in February 2025.
The tribunal, comprising Member (A) Prasant Kumar and Member (J) M. S. Latif, expressed severe dissatisfaction with the “non-compliance of the judgment of this court dated 20-03-2023,” which has forced the contempt petition to remain pending through multiple hearings since November 2024, as per Srinagar-based news gathering agency Kashmir Dot Com.
The petitioner, Suraya Jabeen’s counsel, Advocate Musaib Nabi, submitted that the respondents had challenged the tribunal’s judgment before the J&K High Court through WPC 1946/2024, but their petition was dismissed on February 10, 2025. The High Court had specifically clarified that “the retrospective regularization of the respondents herein w.e.f. 12-06-1996 made in terms of the order passed by the Deputy Director, shall be deemed to be in order and in accordance with law.”
Noting that more than five months had passed since the High Court’s affirmation without implementation, the tribunal stated: “We are left with no option but to seek the personal presence of the Commissioner Secretary to Government, Social Welfare Department, J&K, Civil Secretariat Srinagar/Jammu, as well as the Mission Director, ICDS, J&K, Civil Secretariat Srinagar/Jammu, before this court.”
The bench clarified that this measure was necessary “only to uphold the supremacy of law and to facilitate implementation/compliance of the order of this court.”
The case has been listed for the next hearing on September 17, 2025. The tribunal provided a final opportunity for compliance, noting that “in case the judgment of the court dated 20-03-2023 is complied with, the personal appearance of the officers mentioned above shall be deemed to have been dispensed with.” (KDC)
