Srinagar, Jan 27, CNS
Expressing concern over the prolonged litigations against the Government, Jammu and Kashmir Government has ordered to develop a dash board for effective and timely monitoring of court cases and contempt petitions against the Government.
CNS has learnt from inside sources in administrative department that administrative secretaries have been asked to contest the personal appearance orders of various courts on the basis on judgment given by Supreme Court of India.
Sources said that it is after the observance by chief secretary BVR Subhramanium that despite the repeated formal instructions by the Law, Justice, Parliamentary affairs and General Administration departments, no results in the context of timely monitoring of the court cases have been achieved so far.
It has been observed that lack of the coordination between various departments and the counsels appointed for handling government cases in the courts of law.
For Government the reports of many Law Officers, not appraising concerned Administrative Secretaries of the court orders well in time and delayed filing of replies and compliance is a matter of great concern.
Sources said that Government has come to know that due to the non-serious approach of Law Officers courts has resulted in passing of adverse orders against the government and summoning of senior officers by the courts. It is because of this that a number beyond the imagination of litigations against the Government, is pending various courts across Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources said that even the warning to the Law Officers to face action in the case of irresponsible behavior has been fruitless as it never changed into reality and thus the dilly-dallying approach by the Law officers in handling the cases has continued without any change.
It has been also learnt that Chief Secretary has recently discussed the issue with the Administrative Secretaries of concerned departments, where it was felt that unless a dashboard and a portal to monitor pending litigations against the government is not developed, no change in the situation is possible.
Sources said that Government feels that such a mechanism will go a long way in timely tracking of the status of court cases and will also make Law Officers accountable for filing timely replies after seeking the opinion from respective secretaries.
Meanwhile Government issued a directive to the Administrative Secretaries of Law, Justice and Parliamentary affairs department to circulate the Judgment of the Supreme Court regarding non-summoning of senior officers by the courts.
Pertinently Supreme Court while considering a petition, against the summoning of an officer by the High Court, has recently given a judgment in which the Court has disapproved the practice of summoning of officers by the courts, merely because an order has been passed by an officer and has observed that it does not warrant a personal presence of the said officer in the court. (CNS)
