Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 12: A total of 88 posts of Judicial Magistrates are lying vacant across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir thereby leaving the litigants and lawyers in the lurch.
A reply to an application filed under the Right to Information Act has revealed that there are 88 vacant posts of Judicial Magistrates as against the sanctioned posts of 245 in district and subordinate courts across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Some of the posts are lying vacant for quite long time and one such instance in the post of Judicial Magistrate at the Munsiff Court in Gool area of Ramban district, which is lying vacant for more than one year.
Recently, the Judicial Magistrate at Ramban was given the additional charge of Gool but he sits only twice a week (Thursdays and Fridays) in Gool Munsiff Court and the court continues to remain non-functional for rest of the days leaving litigants and lawyers in the lurch. As per the reply, 752 cases are pending for disposal in Munsiff Court at Gool.
President of District Bar Association of Ramban, Asif Ronyal said that lawyers and litigants in Gool area are suffering due to lack of a permanent Judicial Magistrate in Gool. “Many representations were submitted to higher authorities for filling up the post but to no avail”, he said.
Advocate Mumtaz said that a permanent Judicial Magistrate is very important for Gool because it is approximately 50-60 kilometers from the District Court at Ramban. “People are suffering a lot due to the vacant post of the Judicial Magistrate in the Gool for more than a year. Giving additional charge to the Judicial Magistrate at Ramban has not helped and is only causing difficulty to people at both Gool and Ramban since the Ramban Judicial Magistrate sits at Gool for two days and at Ramban for the remaining days”, she added.
One has to travel 50 to 60 kilometers to the District Court at Ramban to get even an affidavit attested.
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