Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has sharply criticised the Jammu and Kashmir administration, summoning top officials including the Chief Secretary, Finance Secretary, Secretary of General Administration Department (GAD), and Secretary of Public Works Department (PWD) Road and Buildings (R&B) for failing to adhere to a court order issued over a year ago.
The court denounced the justice system in the Union Territory as a "cruel joke" and expressed dismay at the executive's apparent indifference. The order came from a division bench led by Justices Atul Sreedharan and Javed Iqbal Wani, in response to a petition challenging the government's decision to equate Chief Engineers' pay scale with that of Superintending Engineers. The court had directed the authorities to correct this discrepancy within three months.
Despite this clear directive, the government not only failed to comply but also delayed filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) with the Supreme Court against the High Court's ruling. The SLP was filed ten months later, with seven defects pointed out by the Supreme Court registry still unaddressed.
Adding to the court's frustration, the Chief Secretary did not appear as directed, citing a meeting. This discrepancy between the Law Secretary's and Advocate General's explanations — one claiming a meeting and the other citing connectivity issues — drew the court's ire. The court slammed these conflicting accounts, underscoring the lack of seriousness in addressing the matter.
The court further noted that past leniency towards the executive had led to a significant backlog of over six thousand contempt petitions, some pending for more than a decade. This backlog reflects a broader failure in the justice system, reducing it to a "cruel joke."
The court expressed its distress, stating that contempt cases should ideally be resolved within three to five hearings, either through compliance, superior court intervention, or legal punishment. The court warned it would no longer tolerate such blatant disregard for its orders and vowed to implement strict measures to ensure compliance.
The next hearing is scheduled for August 8, 2024, with all four officials required to attend personally. The court warned that failure to comply would result in coercive actions to enforce their presence.
