Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Dec 26: High Court today took serious note of authorities not implementing the final judgment of the court on pensionary benefits to the employees and observed that its non-implementation has dangerous consequences.
Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir while dealing with the contempt petition for implementing the final judgment of court, said, firstly, the authorities have consumed lot of time in implementing the judgment. “Then while finding no escape route, in principle they have taken decision to implement the judgment which they have done partly by according sanction for extension of pensionary benefits but made it blunt by prescribing conditional mode for implementation”, High Court said.
“These types of tactics are unacceptable. No authority, how high or whosoever may be, can sit over the judgment of the court. Quite strange, the judgment passed in 2009 has attained finality but it has not been implemented in its real spirit”, Justice Mir recorded.
Court also said that in Constitutional scheme, a person has a right to fight for his rights and also to fight against any discrimination. “When a person fights for his rights by having recourse to litigation and when he finally succeeds, he cannot be deprived of reaping the fruits of successful litigation”, it said.
Petitioner have defended their rights upto the level of country’s Apex Court with success but respondent authorities by one pretext or the other appear to be pre-determined in not implementing the judgment in its real spirit.
“Govt. order No.230-Ind of 2017 dated 26.09.2017, as shown to be issued in full compliance of the judgment, in effect, has the trappings of negating the implementation of the judgment in its real spirit, which is quite demonstrable in view of the conditions incorporated in the order”, reads the order.
Court said the disobedience of the judgment has the trappings of shacking the confidence of the rightful litigant in public and has a clear effect of polluting the stream of justice. “The respondent authorities shall have to bear in mind that any course adopted for diluting the implementation of the judgment in its real spirit has dangerous consequences i.e. the authorities attempting to disobey the judgment perhaps are not conscious that they are doing it at their own peril”, High Court said.
The non-implementation of the judgment, court recorded, in its real spirit is quite apparent. “I am inclined to frame rule against all the respondent authorities but before doing so, an opportunity is granted to the respondents to purge the contempt i.e. to implement the judgment in the manner it has been implemented in respect of first group of employees of the J&K Industries by issuing an order on the lines of Govt. Order No.219-Ind of 2002 dated 08.08.2002 and Govt. Order No.278-Ind of 2008 dated 30.10.2008. Same shall be done without any fail within a period of four weeks and compliance report be filed upto the next date”, Justice Mir said.
The contempt proceedings by J&K Industries Employees Association, Kashmir Govt. Arts Emporium Low Paid, Factory Workers Union have been initiated against various higher ups in Government including Chief Secretary and Commissioner Secretary of Industries and Commerce.
Petitioners in all these three contempt petitions, in effect, till date have not been allowed to reap the fruit of the judgment dated 12.03.2009 rendered by this Court while disposing of bunch of writ petitions.
Follow our WhatsApp channel