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| Com Secy Higher Education, Director Colleges in dock | | CAT to frame contempt charges against officials for ignoring orders | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 1: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has decided to frame charges against Commissioner Secretary Higher Education Department, Director Colleges and other officials for not following its order. The CAT which looks after the service matters of government employees of the J&K UT has taken the decision to act after the order passed by it was ignored by the department. The petition had passed the order in a petition filed by contractual college lecturers, mostly from Jammu province. Firstly the Higher Education Department didn’t implement the order passed by the CAT and after that the officials knocked the door of the Supreme Court to save themselves from legal action.
According to the documents available with Early Times, in the contempt petition titled, Meenakshi Devi and others versus Talat Parvez Rohella and
others, the Jammu Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal had directed the Secretary Higher Education, Director Colleges, Nodal Principal of Jammu Colleges and others to be present on the next date of hearing so that charges may be framed against them under Contempt of Court Act 1971. The next hearing is scheduled in first week of February.
In the petition the applicants (contractual lecturers of Jammu province) had sought initiation of contempt proceedings against respondents for alleged disobedience/violation of order dated
25/06/2020 passed by the Tribunal in O.A. no. 61/103/2020 titled Meenakshi Devi and others versus Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The case pertains to the engagement of contractual faculty members in Jammu based colleges, who had secured a stay from Srinagar bench of Higher Court for their continuance on the posts till the engagement of regular staff. “Over 700 contractual lecturers in Kashmir based colleges have been enjoying continuance of their contractual engagement for the last over four years after securing stay from the High Court. On the same analogy the Jammu based contractual lecturers had also sought a stay and the High Court Srinagar in WP(C) No. 769/2020 had granted that status-quo should be maintained with regard to the services of
petitioners vide order number 13/03/2020”, the petitioners have maintained in the contempt petition. However despite having a stay,
the Jammu based contractual lecturers were disengaged by Higher Education Department and new candidates were engaged but in case of Kashmir region, the already engaged contractual lecturers have been given extension.
Following the violation of High Court’s order, the petitioners also secured a stay from Tribunal in O.A no. 61/03/2020 titled Meenakshi Devi and Others vs Union Territory of J&K and others dated 25/06/2020.
It further reads, “......despite orders of interim relief protecting the status of the applicant, the respondents (officials of Higher Education) wilfully violated the order dated 25/06/2020 and started harassing and pressurizing the petitioners, who had approached the CAT by telling them that if they do not withdraw the OA and file an undertaking that their engagement is in pursuance of guidelines of 17/02/2020 and shall take effect from the assignment of class work and they have not obtained status quo from CAT, they will not be considered for the session 2020-21 and their vacancies will be offered to other candidates, which is totally unfair and unjust on part of the respondents besides being contemptuous and violates the rights of the petitioners to avail their legal remedies before the Tribunal.
The latest CAT’s judgement pronounced by Member (J) Rakesh Sagar Jain and Anand Mathur Member(A) reads, “Prime facie, there seems to be disobedience by the respondents of order dated 25/06/2020 passed in O.A. No. 61/103/2020 titled Meenakshi Devi and others v/s UT of J&K.
The Tribunal has to examine the compliance of its order. We feel that there is sufficient material on record to frame charges against the contemnors. The respondents (Officials of Higher Education including Secretary) are directed to remain present on the next date so that charges be framed against them under Contempt of Court Act, 1971.
However the Secretary Higher Education has knocked the door of the Supreme Court.
As per cause list issued by Supreme Court, the case has been tentatively listed for 02/02/2021 under the Bench of Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice S. Ravindra Bhat.
The case titled Talat Parvez rohella and others v/s Meenakshi Devi and others is listed under category 1705-Contempt of court Matters:
Appeals u/s 19(1)(b) of Contempt of court Act, 1971, while petitioners are Commissioner Secretary Higher Education, Director Colleges, Nodal Principal Gandhi Nagar Jammu, Prof. Suresh Kumar Sharma and others. |
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