Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 3: Division Bench of High Court comprising Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Sindu Sharma has issued notices in a petition filed by direct recruit District Judge Tahir Khurshid Raina.
After hearing the counsels for petitioner Advocates Abhinav Sharma, K M Bhatti and Faheem Shokat Butt, Division Bench issued notice to High Court and private respondents who are promotee District Judges for filing objections within 4 weeks.
As an ad-interim direction, the Division Bench asked the High Court to decide the representation of petitioner within a period of two months and fixed the next date of hearing on10.12.2018.
The petitioner was selected as District Judge under direct recruitment quota for which the process was initiated in the year 2011. As an interim measure, the Government on the recommendations of High Court vide order dated 29.08.2011 appointed 15 Sub Judges purely on adhoc basis for a period of six months or till the posts are filled up by regular process of selection with a rider that the adhoc promotions are subject to superior right of advocates against post in the lawyers quota for which the process has been initiated.
The adhoc arrangement was thus valid only up to 29.02.2012 and the arrangement was never extended thereafter. However, the High Court vide Order No. 66 dated 24.04.2015 regularized the adhoc promotions of 15 Sub Judges retrospectively with effect from the date they were placed incharge against the post and further four more Sub Judges were promoted with effect from 06.12.2013.
The petitioner submitted a representation dated 26.02.2018 to the High Court whereby it was prayed that seniority in the cadre of District Judges may be fixed in terms of Rule 17 of J&K Higher Judicial Service Rules 2009 read with Schedule-“B”and in the light of Supreme Court Judgments regarding inter-se seniority between direct recruits vis-a-vis promotee District Judges but without deciding the representation an order dated 16.10.2018 came to be issued by the High Court whereby the promotee District Judges who are junior to petitioner were granted Selection Time Scale of the Higher Judicial Service.
Aggrieved of the action of High Court the petitioner filed the writ petition seeking direction to High Court to quash the order impugned dated 16.10.2018, to consider his case alongwith other eligible direct recruit District Judges for grant of Selection Time Scale, to strictly adhere to the provisions of Rule 17 read with Schedule-“B” of J&K Higher Judicial Service Rules 2009, to prepare and issue final seniority list of District Judges in accordance with Rule 17 and not to violate quota and rota Rule for purpose of maintaining seniority in accordance with roster as prescribed in Schedule-“B” of the Rules.
The main contention of the petitioner was that the High Court has violated the roster provided in Schedule-“B” of J&K Higher Judicial Service Rules 2009 and conferred undue benefit of Selection Grade to the promote District Judges. It was further contended that even the adhoc promotions were made beyond the sanctioned temporary posts which is only 12 according to Schedule-“A” of the Rules and 19 Adhoc Judges were appointed by promotion contrary to Rules.
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