SRINAGAR: While criticising the Jammu and Kashmir government’s “lack of sincerity” in complying with judicial orders, the High Court has ordered the personal appearance of the Chief Secretary and other top officials on August 8.
The directive follows a contempt petition related to their alleged defiance of a court order issued in August 2023. The court has warned that failure to comply with this directive may result in coercive measures.
According to Srinagar based news gathering agency, a Division Bench of the JK and Ladakh High Court’s Srinagar wing, consisting of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Javed Iqbal Wani, has ordered the personal appearance of the Chief Secretary, Finance Secretary, Secretary of the General Administration Department (GAD), and Secretary of the Public Works Department (PWD) in response to the contempt petition.
The case as per the Court order concerns a dispute over the pay scales of Chief Engineers compared to Superintending Engineers. The court had directed a pay scale revision for Chief Engineers, which the government has been accused of delaying.
During Monday’s hearing, the court observed several discrepancies. While the Finance and PWD Secretaries appeared via video conference as instructed, the GAD Secretary was absent on leave.
Adding to this what infuriated the court was that the Chief Secretary failed to appear before the court as directed, citing a meeting. This prompted the court to question the credibility of both the Law Secretary, who claimed the Chief Secretary was busy in a meeting, and the Advocate General, who earlier informed the court that the Chief Secretary was keen to join the proceedings but faced connectivity issues.
“Both these versions are starkly disparate and in gross contradiction to each other,” the court observed, highlighting the lack of seriousness with which the government approached the matter.
Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Javed Iqbal Wani noted that the government’s conduct suggests a “lack of sincerity” in complying with judicial orders. They highlighted the significant backlog of over 6,000 contempt petitions, reflecting delays in the execution of judicial orders.
The court also criticised the delay in filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the original order. “Despite receiving sanction in February 2024, the SLP was filed only in June, with several defects still uncorrected,” the court stated.
The bench further observed, “From the manner in which the Union Territory Government has conducted itself, it is clear that there is an absolute lack of sincerity on its part to comply with the order passed by this Court. It reflects a concerning state of affairs regarding judicial proceedings and orders.”
The court noted that over six thousand contempt petitions are pending, affecting numerous litigants who have yet to benefit from court orders.
To address these issues, the judges have directed the personal appearance of the Chief Secretary, Finance Secretary, GAD Secretary, and PWD Secretary on August 8. Failure to comply with this order will result in coercive measures. (KDC)
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