Implementation of Shetty Pay Commission
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 22: In a petition filed by the employees borne on the cadre of Subordinate Courts seeking implementation of Shetty Commission Report, a Division Bench of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court comprising Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Mohan Lal has directed respondent to do the needful and provide benefit of recommendations retrospectively with effect from 01.04.2003.
“The plea of respondent that the posts cannot be created retrospectively is untenable in law and cannot be accepted. The creation of posts from retrospective date to comply with judgment of competent court of jurisdiction is not unknown to service jurisprudence”, the DB added.
DB further ordered that the High Court as also the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs shall file their respective action taken reports in respect of these directions by or before the next date of hearing.
Earlier, when the petition came-up for hearing the petitioners sought initiation of contempt proceedings against the respondents for non-compliance of the judgment dated 09.03.2016 passed in SWP No.53/2011.
The respondents—High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs have filed several compliance reports indicating the manner in which various recommendations made by the Shetty Commission have been implemented.
On 10.04.2023, when these contempt petitions came up for consideration, it was noticed that respondent No.1 had taken a stand that the Union Territory of J&K had complied with the recommendations of the Shetty Commission, as conveyed by the Registrar General. This position was disputed by Sunil Sethi, senior counsel, who submitted that there were some very important recommendations of the Shetty Commission, which were yet to be complied with by the respondents.
Having regard to the rival stand of the parties, High Court vide order dated 10.04.2023, granted two weeks’ time to the petitioners to file affidavit in rebuttal to the action taken report filed by respondent No.1. In compliance to the order dated 10.04.2023, the petitioners filed requisite affidavit indicating, inter alia., the recommendations of the Shetty Commission, which were yet to be complied with by the respondents.
The High Court vide order dated 19.04.2023 called upon the counsel appearing for the High Court and the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs to file point-wise rebuttal to the affidavit filed by the petitioners. The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir through Advocate Rajnish Raina and Department of Justice, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs through Senior AAG Monika Kohli have filed their respective affidavits in rebutal.
“From reading of the affidavits/action taken reports filed by the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs in terms of orders dated 19.04.2023, 12.05.2023 and 12.06.2023, it is abundantly clear that the respondents are yet to comply with recommendations of the Shetty Commission”, the DB observed.
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