Establishment of CAT Bench at Srinagar
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 31: Division Bench of High Court comprising Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey and Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul today hoped that all the difficulties/ encumbrances that may be there, on administrative side, in the process of establishment of the Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal at Srinagar are removed expeditiously as litigants belonging to the Kashmir region are facing problems in pursuing their cases before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Jammu Bench.
While dismissing an appeal filed by Abdul Qayoom Chalkoo, the DB observed, “we must be failing in our duty in case we do not take note of the projected grievance qua the non-availability of the Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal at Srinagar which, as per the Senior Counsel, tantamount to denial of justice to the litigants belonging to the Kashmir region in view of the judgment rendered by the Supreme Court in Rojer Mathew’s case”.
“In this connection, it, needs, must be said that the Central Government has already issued notification under Sub-Section 7 of Section 5 of the Act of 1985 way back on May 28, 2020, specifying Jammu and Srinagar as the places at which the Benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal shall ordinarily sit for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh and, in pursuance thereof, the Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal started holding sittings at Jammu from June 8, 2020, hearing the cases not only pertaining to the litigants of Jammu, but also the ones belonging to Kashmir as well as Ladakh region for the time being”, the DB said.
“This arrangement of hearing of the cases pertaining to the litigants of Kashmir region, as would come to limelight from the stand taken by both the Central Administrative Tribunal as well as the Government of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, is temporary in nature and the proposal to establish a permanent Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal at Srinagar in under active consideration of the authorities concerned”, the DB said.
“During the course of arguments, both the Advocate General as well as the Senior Central Government Standing Counsel have indicated that the reasons for the delay in the establishment of the Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal at Srinagar are purely administrative in nature, with respect to which this court cannot issue any specific direction(s) to the concerned authorities”, the DB further said, adding “more-so, when the Apex Court in Rojer Mathew’s case has already observed that having Tribunals without Benches in at least the capitals of States and Union Territories amounts to denial of justice to citizens of those States and Union Territories which makes the entire justice delivery system very metropolis centric having many adverse effects”.
“In this context, this court can only hope and trust that all the difficulties/ encumbrances that may be there, on administrative side, in the process of establishment of the Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal at Srinagar are removed as expeditiously as possible”, the DB said.
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