Plan to extend CAT-Chandigarh jurisdiction to Jammu and Kashmir opposed

It will affect advocates of Union Territory and the public

April 30, 2020 10:16 pm | Updated 10:16 pm IST - Srinagar

Several lawyers, the J&K Apni Party (JKAP) and the National Conference (NC) on Thursday opposed the decision to extend the jurisdiction of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Chandigarh, to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to hear the cases of employees for redress.

“Shifting of all pending service-related matters from both wings of the High Court in Jammu and in Kashmir to the CAT will hit the advocates of the Union Territory in particular and the public in general... Ironically, the worst sufferers are those who had welcomed the abrogation of the special status of the erstwhile State,” Naseem Liaqat, a Jammu-based advocate, wrote on Twitter.

JKAP president Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari said the decision would impact over 30,000 service matters. “Instead of establishing two tribunals, one in Jammu and the other in Srinagar, for the aggrieved employees of J&K, shifting these service matters to the CAT, Chandigarh, for adjudication is simply a travesty of justice,” he said.

He said the decision deprived the employees of speedier and cost-effective justice delivery and denied these rights to the job aspirants who would approach the judicial system to ensure fairness and remove anomalies in recruitment processes.

“Once these cases are shifted to the CAT, it is bound to prove a tedious and costly affair for almost all these litigants, which will surely defeat the purpose of constitutionally guaranteed justice at doorstep of the citizens,” Mr. Bukhari said.

He said a huge chunk of service matters filed before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court pertained to daily wagers, casual labourers, consolidated workers, ITI and skilled workers, contractual and adhoc appointees, and Class IV employees. “Jammu and Kashmir is not like Haryana, Punjab, Amritsar and Himachal Pradesh that surround Chandigarh, and it amounts to penalising those who do not live in these cities, making it harder for them to access timely and affordable judicial remedy,” he said.

A NC spokesman said in a statement, “The new mechanism will serve as a deterrent to the aggrieved employees seeking redress in service matters in future as well. The cumbersome process and hearing far away in Chandigarh will prove a demoralising factor for the employees.” The party urged the government to roll back the order.

An official said a list of 16,335 cases were prepared on Wednesday by the High Court to transfer service matters to the CAT, Chandigarh.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 18 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 (13 of 1985), the Central government hereby makes the further amendment in the Notification of the Government of India in the erstwhile Ministry of Personnel and Training, Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and Pensions vide number G.S.R. 610 (E) dated 26th July, 1985,” reads the notification issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.