news details |
|
|
| Apex Court upholds High Court order | | Fudging of KAS seniority list | | Rejects continuation of temporary arrangements
Asif Iqbal Naik
Early Times Report
Kishtwar, Feb 1: In what could be a big jolt to the state government on the issue of adhoc arrangements of Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) at Special Scale, the Supreme Court of India has declined to provide any interim relief to the state government against the order of Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
The Supreme Court benches headed by Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and Justice S A Bobde in two different cases of same nature rejected the plea of the state government wherein it had prayed to allow the interim arrangement beyond 10th of June 2014 fixed by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court wherein the court allowed the KAS officers to officiate as Special Scale/equal rank which has made for election purpose on the request of the government in response to the petitions filed by Ghulam Nabi Itoo and others and Tanveer Iqbal and others challenging the government decision.
However the state government instead of implementing the directions of the High Court, filed multiple SPLs before the Supreme Court to allegedly favour the blue eyed officials contrary to the final list of KAS as per KAS 1979 rules, reinduction in the time scale of KAS made from various feeding services and Junior Scale KAS as the slot allocated/available to every service proportionate to the share by the establishment cum selection committee comprises of senior most IAS officer under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary of the state and accordingly slots to different feeding services were available w.e.f 2004, but there were no slots available for some services like the Secretariat (G) service who were infect their selves dealing with the case from GAD while others were blue eyed OSDs/Private Secretaries with former Chief Minister, Ministers and Chief Secretary.
The action on part of the blue eyed officials close to power corridors delayed the induction of the deserving field officers. These blue eyed officials not only allegedly fudged the seniority list, but to authenticate their action, they even mooted a proposal for changing the rules, but failed as the Governor in order to undo injustice with deserving officers kept a provision in new KAS rule 2008 that even if induction is made late, it would relate to the availability of the slot to the respective feeding service from the date of availability of vacancy and this was incorporate under rule 15 (4), thus the tentative seniority list was issued as per the availability of the slots year wise and those who came to be inducted late due to late availability of the slots was placed blow the one having slot availability earlier as per 1979 KAS rules, but the former government under pressure of these blue eyed officers totally changed the final seniority list and officers having no vacancy even up to 2007, were placed above the officers having availability of slot in the year 2004 by restoring to bunching of vacancies contrary to KAS rules and the judgement of Supreme Court in case titled Vijay Singh Charak V/S State of J&K.
The seniority under challenge before High Court has been quashed quo wherein 49 officers having no slots who were to be pushed to the bottom plus the review of the petitioners, cases if they demonstrate that inductions took place from year 2004-08 which they have already done. However state instead of recasting seniority to give justice to the deserved one restored to coined the term temporary arrangements under the garb of parliamentary election 2014, but also did not implement the court order in its true sprit by terminating the arrangements on 10th of June 2014 as agreed before the court.
In order to defend the blue eyed officers, the government once again approached the High Court for getting the stay, but High Court rejected the government application and even passed several strictures against government for misleading and misrepresenting the court.
The government instead of terminating the services of blue eyed officials went to Supreme Court of India; but in Supreme Court, Jammu and Kashmir government also failed to get any relief as Supreme Court rejected the state government's plea, the state government 3rd time again approached the Supreme Court of India seeking continuation of temporary arrangements, but again Supreme Court declined to interfere with the orders of the High Court.
Pertinently, the state government under pressure of these blue eyed officers allegedly restored to frivolous litigations at the cost of state exchequer and did not implement the court orders. The government is still reluctant to implement the court orders as many of the ineligible officers who were benefited are still holding the charge of HODs/Special Secretary posts illegally despite court order.
The GAD has even promoted Deputy Secretaries and Additional Secretaries to complicate the issue for vested interests.
After Supreme Court Order, the deserving officers are pinning hopes on Governor N N Vohra for clearing this mess. The Court heard both the cases on 22-1-2015 and the order copy of the final judgment was received today itself.
As reported by "Early Times" in its February 3, 2012 edition, the tentative seniority list of prestigious KAS service Officers was issued vide order No: 485-GAD of 2010 dated 21-04-2010, but some blue eyed officers around 30 in number especially posted as private secretaries with former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his cabinet colleagues were not happy with this order since there were no vacancies available for them in KAS cadre.
These blue eyed officers with the help of strong support from political lobby and persons in GAD department headed by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah himself managed distortion giving undue benefit in promotions to these blue-eyed officers in sheer violation of rules and regulation set by the government from time to time.
To utter surprise, the affected officers were not heard after the total change in criteria of fixation of seniority contrary to the tentative seniority list.
The impugned seniority list was not even placed again before the establishment committee that looks into KAS related promotions or before the state Cabinet for final nod and instead hurriedly issued the order vide No: 1429-GAD of 2011 dated 14-12-2011, in which the KAS officers placed at the bottom of the seniority list were promoted to Additional Secretary and equivalent ranks.
While scrutinizing both the lists issued by the same department i.e. GAD, it is found that Asgar Hussain private secretary to former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Hashmat Ali Private Secretary to former Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, Dr. Ravi Shankar Sharma Private Secretary to former Revenue Minister Raman Bhalla, Shakeel-ur-Rehman Private Secretary to former Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather,Dr. G N Itoo Private Secretary to former Social Welfare Minister Sakina Itoo, Kishore Singh Chib private Secretary to former Medical Education Minister, close relative to former Union Minister for New and renewable resources (Nazim Zia Khan) are the major beneficiaries of the game plan. The former Commissioner Secretary GAD M.S Khan also played a pivotal role and even managed operation of controversial seniority list in the garb of officiating arrangements on the plea that the government work is suffering. The height of manipulation is that all the Private Secretary have got their selves designated as Official on Special Duty (OSD's) with the same ministers and what difference it made to accelerate the government work when the nature of duty remains the same. In some cases the officers have been transferred and posted against the posts which were already filled and thus making mockery off officiating arrangements and the urgency projected before the honorable court. Some officers close to the former Commissioner Secretary GAD M S Khan and the political lobby far junior are still occupying plum posts of higher grade and the government fails to stick to any fixed criteria in transparent manner. But the million dollar question arises as who will act as a watch dog for the misdeeds committed in the GAD which was headed by not less than the former Chief Minister himself. An officer who remained for 12 years in the GAD and manipulated the list is still in secretariat as no field posting is available for such officers in the government.
This impugned KAS seniority list has disappointed the deserving officers but the fact remains that manipulations have been done by those who are close to the power corridors and continue to rotate in the same circles without getting transferred outside the secretariat.
In one such manipulation, the seniority position of another KAS officer Farooq Shah, former Director Tourism Kashmir was challenged by officer of Handloom cadre and despite court orders he has not been re-casted and contempt case against the government has been fixed in the High Court at Jammu later.
One Pardeep Kumar (KAS) who failed in the departmental examination and was entitled for induction only after January 2007 managed his induction illegally in 2006 and was later allotted the vacancy of year 2004. He even stands promoted above the senior officers and posted as Additional Secretary.
The other major beneficiaries of government order No: 1429-GAD of 2011 are Arvind Kotwal former Deputy Secretary to CM Office, Abdul Rashid War, Amit Sharma son of former MLA, Sheikh Arshad Ayoob former Deputy Secretary GAD, Shabnum Kamli and Leena Padha both former Deputy Secretary GAD.
While issuing the fresh order by GAD regarding the promotion of KAS officers, the rights of about 99 KAS officers have been butchered by those who were at the helm of affairs. The aggrieved officers also brought the matter into the notice of the former Chief Minister, who also turned deaf ear for obvious reason. Former Chief Minister maintaining silence over the issue has even put his credibility at stake. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
