Bringing J&K Varsities under CAT jurisdiction
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 21: A Division Bench of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court comprising Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Sanjay Parihar has issued notice in a writ petition filed by a former Scientist D at the University of Kashmir, challenging a Central Government notification that brought J&K Universities within the jurisdiction of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).
The petition also raised critical constitutional questions about federalism, legislative powers and the autonomy of state institutions post-reorganization of Jammu & Kashmir. DSGI T M Shamsi waived notice on behalf of the Centre and sought three weeks’ time to file objections.
The roots of the case lie in petitioner Dr Muheet Ahmad Butt’s abrupt dismissal from service on August 13, 2022, by an order issued under Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution, invoked by the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. At the time, Dr Muheet was serving as Scientist D in the Department of Computer Science, having been appointed to the post by the University Syndicate in 2012.
Challenging his termination, Dr Muheet approached the High Court through a writ where the court protected the post from being filled on a regular basis. However, following the issuance of Notification No. GSR 471(E) dated August 2, 2024, the matter was transferred to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), triggering the present petition seeking judicial review of the notification itself.
Through notification the Central Government brought 10 universities in the Union Territory of J&K including the University of Kashmir, University of Jammu and Sher-e-Kashmir Institutes within the jurisdiction of the CAT under Section 14(2) of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985. Dr Muheet’s petition challenges this notification only to the extent it includes the University of Kashmir.
Represented by Advocates Salih Pirzada, Sharaf Wani, Bhat Shafi and Syed Ainain Qadri, the petitioner contended that the University of Kashmir is an autonomous statutory body, governed by the Kashmir and Jammu Universities Act, 1969, and is not subject to Central Government control.
Submitting that Entry 32 of the State List under Article 246 of the Constitution vests exclusive power to legislate on universities with the State or UT legislature, it has been stated that the impugned notification, therefore, amounts to executive overreach and encroaches upon the legislative domain of the Union Territory.
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