SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020 DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU daily Excelsior Service disputes of J&K employees in CAT Established 1965 Advocate Pranav Kohli Administrative tribunal for a time to time were made applica- Reorganization Act, the appro- pursued in the Chandigarh importance. Founder Editor S.D. Rohmetra State; or (iii) Joint Administrative ble to the State of J&K. Thus, for priate legislature, the Central bench being located there, and Another aspect of the matter he Administrative Tri- tribunal for two or more states. the first time, the rigor of Article Government in the case of a UT the lawyers and litigants will is that the Chandigarh Bench bunals find its source or The basic object of the estab- 370 was diluted and the constitu- will have the power to regulate have to travel to Chandigarh also has the jurisdiction over Torigin in the Constitution lishment of the Administrative tion per se in its entirety was made the recruitment and conditions bench for pursuing their cases. three more states and one UT i.e. Relief Package of India under Part XIV-AArticle tribunal was to reduce the burden applicable to the State of J&K. of service of the employees of Though there was no occasion States of Punjab, Haryana and 323 A& 323 B, which was insert- of various high courts, where The natural corollary to this con- the UT of J&K. of having this impression as the Himachal Pradesh & the Union ot only by experts in Economics and ed by Constitution (42nd Amend- there are large number of service stitution order was that Article Section 95 makes all Central Notification dated 29th of April, Territory of Chandigarh. Finances, even the proverbial rustics hold ment) Amendment Act, 1976. matters are pending and provide Part XIV A dealing with Tri- laws in Table 1 of the Fifth 2020 only reiterates like earlier Whether two Benches of CAT The Administrative tribunal Act, the view that to repair the damage caused to a forum to deal exclusively with bunals (Articles 323 A & 323 B) Schedule applicable to the UTof that Chandigarh bench shall can bear the burden of these N 1985 came to be established in the became ipso facto applicable to J&K. Table -1 of the Fifth have the jurisdiction to hear the many cases of all these three economy on account of the pandemic of COVID-19 service matters in an expeditious year 1985 by the Parliament manner. the state of J&K. Schedule contains the list of the service matters of employees of states and UT's simultaneously? and to get it back on rails, we needed to work hard- while exercising the powers Notwithstanding, the incor- Be that as it may, even with Central Laws which have been UT of J&K and Ladhak. When the Chandigarh bench est, at least twice as much as we were doing before under Article 323A. The Act poration of the Article 323-A the Article 323 A being extended made applicable to the UT of The next big question is as also holds the courts at Himachal received the assent of the Presi- the lockdown or in normal circumstances. In a coun- w.e.f 1976, the erstwhile employ- to the state of J&K, the employ- J&K and Ladhak, wherein, the to whether the UT of J&K State as a circuit bench. dent on 27th of February 1985 ees of state of J&K were not cov- ees of the erstwhile state did not Administrative Tribunal Act, requires permanent bench or a Earlier also when the CAT try where wheels of commerce, industry, trade, rail- and was enforced on 1st Novem- ered under the Administrative tri- come under the purview of 1985 has been made applicable circuit bench which will serve bench of Chandigarh used to ways, transport, civil aviation etc needed constant ber 1985. Prior to the establish- bunal Act, 1985 for the reason Administrative tribunal Act, with an amendment of Clause the need and / or fulfill the basic hold its sittings in the Jammu and ment of the Central Administra- greasing in order to ensure they moved not only that the 42nd amendment was not 1985 for twin reasons, firstly, the (b) of Sub-section (2) of section object of providing expeditious Kashmir, it used to hold it not tive Tribunal with five benches, made applicable to the erstwhile J&K state employees continued 1 shall be omitted (except to the justice to the employees, the more than 2 -5 sittings in a peri- uninhibitedly but fast as well, should come to terms writ petitions were filed in the State of J&K. It happened so to be the employees of the state state of J&K). Thus w.e.f the answer is certainly the former. od of one or two month. Even if in respect of how heavily have we lost by applying Supreme Court and various High because of the rigors of Article Government and there was no appointed day (31-10-2019), the Currently there are about the number of sittings is abrupt brakes for nearly one and a half months in Courts challenging the constitu- 370, as it required concurrence of Administrative tribunal for the Administrative tribunal Act, 35,000 service matters which increased,unless the Bench holds tional validity of Article 323-A the courts on regular basis, it shall the shape of a lockdown which again is now extend- the then State Government under state of J&K, Secondly, these 1985 has been made applicable are pending in the J&K High and provisions of the Act. The Article 370 and also for the rea- employees were not the mem- to the UT of J&K and shall gov- Court and as per Section 29 of not serve the purpose of provid- ed till May 17 though with added relaxations. We principal contention was that the son that not all of the provisions bers of any All India Service of ern all its employees. The Ser- the Administrative Act, 1985, ing expeditious justice to the UT need to repair the damage gradually and the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme of the Constitution of India were the Union or the body under the vice matters pertaining to all the service cases shall stand employees besides the dire Court under article 32 and that of process has started now though in one way or the made applicable to the state of control of the Union. Thus, the recruitment, and conditions of transferred to the Chandigarh requirement of the litigants and the High Courts under article 226 J&K. Even the State Administra- only remedy or forum for these service of these employees bench of the Tribunal. As per the lawyers who are seeking the other, some sort of relief and succour were provid- could not be taken away even by tive Tribunal was also not consti- employees was the writ jurisdic- shall be adjudicated exclusively information, there are around disposal of their cases in a time ed to certain categories side by side the enforcing constitutional amendment. Ref- tuted in the State of J&K. There- tion of the High court of J&K. by the Administrative Tribunal. 3000 service cases already bound manner. Therefore, in the erence may be given to judgment fore, the employees of the erst- Thereafter the most impor- The Ministry of Personal, pending in the Chandigarh fitness of the things, it is of the lockdown which had no other soft alternative. of the Honb'le Supreme court in inevitable that the Central Gov- There is hardly any category of business , trade and while state of J&K were not cov- tant event in the history of J&K Public Grievances and Pensions Bench. There are only two L. Chandra kumar's case in this ered under the Administrative tri- took place i.e. the coming in to (Department of personnel and benches each comprising of one ernment and the local administra- commerce that is not hit as also the persons man- regard. bunal Act, 1985. force of the J&K Reorganiza- Training) issued another notifi- judicial and one administrative tion shall make concerted efforts ning them, owning them or associated with them as The administrative tribunal However, the situation tion Act, 2019 which was pub- cation dated 29th of April, 2020, member. Out of the four vacan- to set up a regular CAT bench for the Union Territory of Jammu & deals with the adjudication and changed by Presidential order of lished on 09-08-2019 in the offi- whereby it has been notified cies only 1 is filled and three are workers, employees, agents, providing petty retail- Kashmir with allied infrastruc- resolution of the disputes pertain- 5th of August, 2019, when the cial Gazette of India. In terms of that for the employees of UT of vacant. Meaning thereby, that ture and secretariat. The demand ing facilities etc. ing to recruitment and conditions Constitution (Application to section 4 of the Act, on and from J&K and Ladhak, the jurisdic- there is not even one bench It is heartening that the UT Government of Jam- of service etc. of the employees of setting up of regular bench Jammu & Kashmir) Order, 2019 the "appointed day", the erst- tion will be with the Chandigarh available to hear the cases. appears to be absolutely genuine appointed to (i) Public services was issued. As we all know, the while state of J&K shall be the bench. In other words, the serv- Needless to state that the compo- mu and Kashmir, sensitive to the difficulties and and posts in connection with the and the need of the hour.