Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 29: A Division Bench of the State High Court comprising First Puisne Judge Justice Sudhakar Ramalingam and Justice B S Walia today in a significant order directed Senior Additional Advocate General Seema Shekher to file a complete chart of the 147 Departmental Enquiries pending against various officers indicating the progress achieved so far and the said chart/status report has been directed to be filed in a sealed cover by or before the next date of hearing.
Division Bench also allowed time to Senior Advocate B S Salathia with Advocate Meenakshi Salathia appearing for newly impleaded respondent Commissioner/Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department Hirdesh Kumar Singh (IAS) to file his response to a Miscellaneous Petition moved by the petitioners seeking his transfer to a non sensitive post owing to his alleged involvement in the infamous Roshni Land Scam.
When this much publicized PIL titled “Sheikh Mohd Shafi and ors V/S Union of India and ors” came up for hearing today, Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed with Advocate Supriya Chouhan appearing for the petitioners submitted that the main focus of the instant PIL is the menace of corruption in State of J&K and originally the petitioners had claimed sanction for prosecution against tainted bureaucrats /politicians in 6 FIRs registered with the State Vigilance Organization (SVO). Advocate Ahmed further submitted that there was delay on the part of the State Government to accord prosecution sanctions against the high profile bureaucrats which compelled the petitioners to file the present PIL and subsequently the Division Bench passed several orders which made the GAD to move and accordingly the sanctions were granted and prosecution was launched against the accused involved in the various scams including in the infamous Gulmarg Land Scam.
Today the Division Bench also witnessed heated arguments between the counsel for the petitioners Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed and Senior Advocate B S Salathia appearing for Hirdesh Kumar Singh (IAS). In the open court Senior Counsel Salathia launched a scathing attack on the credibility of the petitioners and also accused them of media trial of his client i.e. Hirdesh Kumar Singh and sought a gag order from the Division Bench.
On the other hand Advocate S S Ahmed while resisting the arguments of the Senior Counsel B S Salathia submitted that today is an era of transparency and dissemination of information is a vital right of citizenry and the press cannot be barred from reporting the proceedings of a PIL highlighting various acts of omission and commission of tainted bureaucrats/public functionaries. Advocate Ahmed further submitted that Hirdesh Kumar Singh is not a holy cow as projected by Senior Counsel B S Salathia as the State Vigilance Organization has booked him in case FIR No.06/2014 and also in case FIR No.15/2014 VOJ (in the infamous Roshni Land Scam) and after completion of investigation in both the FIRs as proved the Inspector General of Police State Vigilance Organization (SVO) has sought prosecution sanction from GAD against the inservice officers including Hirdesh Kumar Singh. Advocate Ahmed further submitted that the GAD in turn is on the shielding exercise and has not so far forwarded his papers to the Department of Personnel and Trainings Government of India for accord of prosecution sanction and also drew the attention of the Division Bench in the open court towards the Miscellaneous Petition highlighting the non-filling up of the posts of Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioner in the State Information Commission. He further submitted that despite issuance of notice to the State Government by the Division Bench on the last date of hearing no reply has been filed which reflects the casual approach of the State Government to a vital issue of public importance. Senior AAG Seema Shekher sought some more time to respond to the said Miscellaneous Petition.
At this stage the Division Bench headed by the First Puisne Judge Sudhakar Ramalingam looking into the importance of the issue in the open court advised the petitioners’ counsel S S Ahmed to move a formal application for segregating the said Miscellaneous Petition so that the same is taken up in an independent PIL. Advocate S S Ahmed also highlighted that only enquiry report has been filed by the Housing and Urban Development Department wherein astonishing revelations have been made with regard to the poor state of affairs in J&K Housing Board but no action taken report has been filed in the matter. Upon this Senior AAG Seema Khajooria Shekher in the open court assured the Division Bench that the same shall be filed before the adjourned date of hearing.
Division Bench in view of the urgency and public interest involved directed the registry to fix this PIL for further proceedings on August 01, 2016.
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