Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Nov 26: Jammu and Kashmir High Court today directed the Government to provide funds for disbursement of salary to the Additional Mobile Magistrates and staff attached to their courts created under 13th Finance Commission or face action.
The Division Bench of High Court comprising Justice MH Attar and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey warned the government for dereliction of court directions. It directed the Government to provide funds for disbursement of salary to the presiding officers and their staff created under 13th Finance Commission for the months of October and November.
“Respondents are further directed to release the amount for payment of salary to these courts on month to month basis”, directed Court.
Government in its Cabinet decision on 19.8.2015 had ordered that 36 special and additional mobile magistrate courts shall cease to exist after August 31.
The Division Bench of this court had stayed the Cabinet order on August 26 with the observation that these courts shall continue to work and dispose of the cases assigned to them till further orders. It had directed the Government to release the salary of the Presiding Officers of these Courts from September, 2015 onwards.
Government had challenged the stay order on Cabinet decision by way of SLP before Supreme Court but the Supreme Court dismissed the SLP and upheld the order passed by Division Bench of this court.
Court in this regard has also been informed by Advocate T H Khawaja (AAG) who submitted before the court that the SLP filed before the Supreme Court stands dismissed and amount on the salary component, up to the month of September for all the employees has been kept with the Registrar General of the High Court.
Court said that after the dismissal of State Government’s SLP by the Supreme Court, State is duty bound to implement the direction. “It is made clear that in case court direction is not complied with, then action, initiated in terms of previous court order will be carried forward to its logical conclusion”, DB said.
Court granted three weeks’ time to Government for filing compliance report of court directions with the condition that in case court orders are not implemented then Commissioner Secretaries of Finance and Law & Parliamentary Affairs shall appear before the court on next date.
Court also made it clear that in the event the earlier court orders are not complied with, then it will be assumed that the officials have deliberately and intentionally, violated the orders of the court and in that situation rule (contempt proceedings) will be framed against them to show cause as to why they (officials) be not punished for committing contempt of court.
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