Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 24: Division Bench of High Court comprising Chief Justice M M Kumar and Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar today directed the General Administration Department to take all necessary steps to fill up seven posts of Senior Prosecuting Officers for the courts designated to hear the corruption cases, on temporary basis till the permanent selection is made.
“In respect of creation of staff for the 7 Additional District and Sessions Court empowered to hear the cases under the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, the status report reveals that the sanction order has been issued for creation of seven posts of Senior Prosecuting Officers and Junior Stenographers etc. However, nothing has been revealed about the steps taken for filling up these posts”, the DB observed in a Public Interest Litigation titled Sheikh Mohd Shafi Versus Union of India and Others.
“A committee comprising Director Vigilance Organization, Secretary Law Department and Director Prosecution has recommended engagement of retired CPOs/SPOs on temporary basis against these seven posts”, the DB said and directed the General Administration Department to take all necessary steps to fill up all these posts on temporary basis for a period of six months.
The DB further directed that the process for filling up posts on temporary basis should be completed within a period of one month commencing from April 16, 2014.
About the filling up of these posts on permanent basis, the DB observed, “the Vigilance Organization has expressed some difficulty for issuance of advertisement notice for the posts”, adding “the Director Information appears to have shown some reluctance on account of Model Code of Conduct. He has requested that the clearance from Chief Electoral Officer be obtained”.
Finding no impediment in proceeding with the issuance of advertisement notice, the DB said, “Chief Electoral Officer has no jurisdiction nor any such thing has been prescribed in the Model Code of Conduct to interfere in the working of the courts”.
The DB directed the Director Information to publish the notice as has been asked by the Secretary, GAD. “We feel that in complying with the directions issued by the courts, the Election Commission as such would not enjoy any jurisdiction if the concerned department complied with those directions”, the DB said.
About the response of the departments to 147 enquiries, whose fate is hanging in balance during the past several years, the DB observed, “the status report filed by the GAD doesn’t answer many queries raised in the order”, adding “the status report is far from satisfactory because in order dated April 4, 2014, we had specifically asked for the nature of charges, stage of enquiry and the action proposed to be taken”.
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