Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 17: The High Court today directed to withhold the salary of Director General of Youth Services and Sports J&K and other subordinate officers of the department in case the earned and legitimate salary of the petitioner-employees is not released.
Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey directed the concerned officers in the Youth Services and Sports Department to release the legitimately earned salary in favour of the petitioners from the available Budget under head 2201-Salary (DYSS Ang) for the year 2020-21 within two weeks from today, failing which both, the respondent District Youth Services and Sports Officer, Anantnag as well as the Director General, Youth Services and Sports, J&K Government, shall not be allowed to draw their salary for the month of October, 2020.
It is in compliance of the court order passed on October 9, that the Director General, Youth Services & Sports, J&K Government, has submitted the Affidavit, stating therein that as the names of the petitioners did not figure in the Budget Estimates for the year 2020-21, the Administrative Department has been, vide office letter No. DG-YSS/Acctts/4147-49 dated 13th of October, 2020, requested to take up the matter with the Finance Department for release of necessary budget to meet out the salary in favour of the petitioners so that the order of this Court is implemented.
Seemingly, upon perusal of the contents of the Affidavit so filed by the Director General, Youth Services and Sports, J&K Government, Justice Magrey said, what emerges is that the only impediment in the process of release of salary in favour of the petitioners, as directed by this Court, appears to be non-existence of the claim of the petitioners in the Budget estimates for the year 2020-21.
Prima facie, the Court has come to the conclusion that the petitioners have been unnecessarily denied their legitimately earned salary from September, 2019 onwards, despite their discharging duties with the respondent Department without any break or fault, for which the Drawing and Disbursing Officer and other concerned Officers in the respondent Department are solely responsible, as such, making them liable to be punished/ penalized.
Court said, it is none of the fault of the petitioner-employees that despite rendering their services with the respondent Department that their salary has remained unpaid only on account of non-projection of their claim in the concerned Budget estimates on part of the respondent Department.
“In this backdrop, the Court, before proceedings against the concerned Officers of the respondent Department, including the Director General, Youth Services and Sports, J&K Government, who is also in know of the directions passed by the Court, on the above lines, deems it just and proper to provide them one last and final opportunity for releasing the salary of the petitioners in tune with the directions passed by this Court from time to time”, read the today’s order.
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