Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 16: High Court directed the authorities to release the remuneration cum salary to the ex-Chairperon/member of Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) and Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) within two months.
The petitioners have approached the court and submitted that they were appointed as Chairpersons/Members of Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards vide Government Order No.10-SW pf 2018 dated 12.01.2018 and Order No.52-SW of 2018 dated 06.02.2018, initially for a period of three years.
It has been further submitted that pursuant to coming into force of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2013 was repealed and it was replaced by the Central Act -Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
Since the petitioners were appointed in terms of repealed JJ Act of 2013 and the JJ Act of 2015 had come into force, as such, position and appointment of members of Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards underwent a change.
The petitioners stated to have filed a writ petition in 2023 seeking a direction upon the respondents to release their remuneration/salary with effect from 25.08.2022 to 28.03.2023. The said writ petition was disposed of by the Court in terms of order dated 14.10.2024, whereby the respondents were directed to accord consideration to the case of the petitioners for release of salary.
The authorities, however, claimed that since there was no contract existing between the petitioners and the respondents beyond 24.08.2022, as such, the respondents are not liable to pay any remuneration/salary to the petitioners.
Justice Sanjay Dhar observed that it is not open to an employer, particularly to a model employer like the Government, to extract work from its employees without paying remuneration for it as the same is violative of Article 23 of the Constitution. Thus, the petitioners cannot be denied salary/remuneration for the period they have actually worked.
“The respondents are directed to release remuneration/ salary in favour of the petitioners with effect from 25.08.2022 to 28.03.2023 at the same rate at which they were being paid during the term of their engagement with the respondents”, the court directed.
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