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| J&K in no mood to implement high court order | | Promotion of 900 agriculture officers | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, May 29: Jammu and Kashmir government has seemingly decided against implementing the High Court directions in the controversial 2008 government order of Agriculture Production Department (APD) in which around 900 officers were elevated to higher positions.
Informed sources told Early Times that agriculture department had sought opinion of the law department for going in appeal against the single bench decision of the High Court. They added that agriculture department is mulling option of approaching Division Bench of High Court with a hope of getting the decision reversed.
It has been reliably learnt that initially law department had asked agriculture department not to appeal against the judgment of Justice Hakeem Imtiyaz Hussain since the case had been decided on merits. However, over the reported insistence of agriculture department to find some way out for keeping this order unimplemented, sources said that law department has now asked the department to approach DB.
They said that legal shoulders of agriculture department have begun the exercise and would be soon approaching DB against the judgement of single bench. Interestingly, it was the government which won the case in the single bench and now again, it is the government approaching the court against its own order. If the insiders are to be believed, government is treating the government order no.279-Agri of 2008 dated 07-10-2008 as the then Principal Secretary Agriculture Production Department Sonali Kumar’s personal order issued in personal capacity.
Sources said that Agriculture department is bent upon getting this order declared “illegal and issued in breach of rules and regulations.” They maintained that those who are likely to get benefited if the court order is implemented have been told in clear terms that “no benefit would be given to them even if heavens fall.” Sources said that all efforts are on to somehow get Sonali Kumar booked for breach of government rules and regulations.
It needs to be mentioned here that High Court had recently upheld controversial government order no.279-Agri of 2008 dated 07-10-2008 passed by then Principal Secretary, Agriculture Production Department Sonali Kumar after carrying out comprehensive review of the agriculture cadre. She had cleared the seniority mess in the department by promoting almost 900 gazetted officers; including over 500 who had already retired after securing nil promotions in their entire service career.
Justice Hakeem Imtiyaz Hussain had in his order directed the administrative department to place the matter before Public Service commission/DPC for its examination and final orders. Court had disposed of all the petitions with direction to the official respondents to place matter alongwith final seniority list of all gazetted officers prepared by official respondents who are in the zone of consideration before Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) within a period of two weeks.
JKSPC has been further directed to finalize the issue within a period of six weeks and on finalization, make recommendation to the government for appropriate orders. Contrary to what agriculture department said about controversial order, Justice Hakim Imtiyaz Hussain had appreciated candid admission of then-Adviser to Governor Badruddin Tayabji wherein he had said “I feel that the steps taken by Principal Secretary (Agri) were the only way out of an impossible impasse. I had failed to deal with this issue in 18 months which I spent as FC (Agri) and the subsequent 5 years as Chairman PSC.”
It needs to be mentioned here that on the basis of a news item published in a Kashmir based daily, Minister for Agriculture, Ghulam Hassan Mir, had formed a fact-finding committee to probe the matter. The 3-member committee submitted its report in mentioning that some qualified and deserving candidates had been dropped in violation of the established norms and service rules.
Mir had later recommended to Chief Minister to hold a full-fledged inquiry so that justice could be done. The inquiry was conducted by then Financial Commissioner, Home, Samuel Verghese, who indicted the former principal secretary, APD, Sonali Kumar, and some senior functionaries of the Department for alleged wrong-doings.
Thereafter, Sonali Kumar was transferred from the post of principal secretary APD after the Verghese report. This paved way for the senior bureaucrat, Iqbal Khanday, to assume the coveted position. Sonali was charge sheeted. Sources aver that Verghese connived with Mir as he was eyeing Chief Secretary’s post, which he managed to hold for about two months when S.S.Kapur was away on medical leave. Separately, a host of SWPs and CMPs were filed in the High Court.
On the other side, officers promoted vide the order have been asked to assume their duties as on 7-10-2008 vide Govt order No. 14 Agri of 2010 dated 29-01-2010. All the officers figuring in the government order No. 279 Agri of 2008 dated 7-10-2008 were told to report back to their duties and place of posting as on 7-10-2008. |
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