HC warns J&K officials

Srinagar, Nov 20: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh Wednesday expressed its displeasure over the dilatory manner in implementing its decision of 2016 regarding the regularisation of services of the daily rated workers and work-charged employees in the Jal Shakti Department.

Hearing a contempt plea filed in 2018, a bench of Justice Rahul Bharti warned the J&K’s Financial Commissioner, Jal Shakti Department, as well as Principal Secretary, Finance Department, of personal appearance if a file related to compliance to its 2016 directions regarding regularisation of services of the daily rated workers and work-charged employees was not produced before it.

“The J&K government through all its departments concerned, be it the General Administration Department (GAD), the Public Health Engineering and Irrigation and Flood Control Department, and the Finance Department have consumed all conceivable excuses and exigencies with respect to the matter of compliance of the writ court judgment dated August 11, 2016, in terms whereof services of the writ petitioners on account of being daily rated workers and work charged employees are mandated to be regularised under the aegis of Jammu and Kashmir Daily Rated Workers and Work Charged Employees (Regularization) Rules 1994 that is SRO 64 dated March 24, 1994, from the date each and every petitioner was respectively entitled thereto without consequential benefits,” the court said.

It noted that the requisite compliance had yet to come to make its realization from the end of the authorities concerned, saying the contempt petition of January 2018 had overstretched along with the patience of the court in putting up with routine excuses of the respondents (authorities).

“Exhausted of the lame excuses from the respondents’ side, this court, in terms of an order dated September 11, 2024, came to frame rule against one of the 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 August 11, 2016,” the court said.

It observed that the seriousness of recurring non-compliance was “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.

The bench also pointed out that in terms of an order dated November 11, 2024, the court called upon the government advocate to get words from the Financial Commissioner, Jal Shakti Department and the Principal Secretary to Government, Finance Department, with respect to the timeline within which the letter and spirit compliance of the judgment was to come forth.

It directed the government advocate to produce the file from the Commissioner Secretary to the Jal Shakti Department whereby the process for compliance with 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 will be constrained to direct personal appearance of the Financial Commissioner as well as Principal Secretary to Government, Finance Department, J&K,” the court said.

The court listed the contempt plea for further hearing on November 26.