STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: In a petition filed by Joginder Singh, Bench Secretary of High Court regarding dearth of staff at various level (i.e.) High Court and District Courts, pay anomaly in respect of officers and staff and promotional avenues to Law Graduate Readers of High Court, a Division Bench of Jammu & Kashmir High Court comprising Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Mohan Lal directed AAG Aseem Sawhney to convene a meeting of Chief Secretary of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, Law Secretary and Registrar General and to ensure that issues raised in the petition are taken up, discussed and if possible, resolved therein. The meeting be held most expeditiously within a month and a report thereof be submitted before the Court, the Bench directed.
When the petition came-up for hearing, Division Bench observed that the petitioners are Bench Secretaries working in High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. They have preferred this petition seeking certain reliefs, one of which is to accord approval to resolution adopted on September 13-15, 2002 in the Chief Justices’ Conference thereby enhancing salary and perks of High Court Staff. Another relief is for a direction to grant retrospective effect to SRO 386 dated December 1, 2008. Lastly, a prayer has been made for the grant of ACP in view of resolution of the Full Court dated November 26, 2014 and sanction/creation of six posts of Additional Registrars in view of judgment of the Supreme Court passed in A R Zakki’s case.
DB observed that the Court, on earlier occasions,, had directed for convening of the meeting of the Chief Secretary of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, Law Secretary and Registrar General for resolving the above disputes and it is alleged that though one meeting was conducted, as directed but in the said meeting only implementation of Shetty Commission Report was considered and there was no discussion with regard to the reliefs claimed in the present petition. DB directed AAG Aseem Sawhney, Additional Advocate General to convene a meeting of officers and to ensure that the issues raised in this petition are taken up, discussed and if possible, resolved therein with intimation to the Court.