The central legal point established in the judgment is the correct application of statutory provisions and rules governing the conditions of service for employees of the High Court, emphasizing the need for a proper understanding and adherence to the constitutional and legal framework.

Magrey, J.

The grievance of the petitioners in this petition is projected against the respondents in as much as they sought to implement the provisions of SRO 202 dated 30.06.2016 vis-a-vis the petitioners - the employees of the High Court appointed recently. Obviously, there seems to be some serious lack of understanding on the part of officers of Accounts Section of Registry of the High Court and their obliviousness of the relevant constitutional provision viz. Section 108 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and the Rules framed by the High Court thereunder governing the recruitment to, and conditions of, service of the servants of the High Court. The petitioners in consequence have, and we must, at the very outset, say, unnecessarily challenged the said SRO 202 dated 30.06.2016.

2. Pursuant to advertisement no.417 dated 13.10.2015 issued by respondents 2 and 3, notifying certain vacancies of different nomenclature available in the High Court, the petitioners were selected and appointed as Restorers in terms of High Court order no.483 dated 04.07.2016. While fixing their pay, the Registrar General and/or the concerned Officers of the Registry of the High Court appear to have imported and applied the provisions of SRO 202 dated 30.06.2015 which would have the effect of treating them in temporary service on probation for five years, entitle them to the minimum of scale of pay along with the grade pay for five years, to be declared as permanent only subject to, inter alia, completion of such period of probation etc. As mentioned above, the petitioners have challenged the provisions of the SRO in this writ petition. The petitioners have made an alternative prayer for mandamus to declare that the said SRO is not applicable to them and that they be directed to be paid their salaries in regular scales of pay.

3. This Court, apart from issuing notice to the respondents, in view of the language employed in the various provisions of SRO 202 dated 30.06.2015, orally asked the learned Advocate General to disclose before the Court the stand of the Government as to the application of the provisions of the said SRO to the servants of the High Court, in particular, and the employees of the Judicial Department, in general. Simultaneously, by order dated 06.09.2016, the Registrar General of the Court was directed to engage a counsel and file his response within three weeks.

4. In response, instead of filing counter affidavit/reply to the writ petition, on behalf of respondent no.1, i.e., the Commissioner-Secretary to Government, General Administration Department, a communication in original, bearing no. GAD(Legal)F-473/2015/864 dated 29.09.2016, addressed by Public Law Officer, General Administration Department to the Private Secretary to the learned Advocate General, was brought on record, which contains the stance of the Government in this regard. The contents of the communication, as would be quoted latter in this judgment, should be sufficient to clear any doubt that had been entertained, though without any reason, by the Officers of the Registry of the Court, and should clinch the grievance raised by the petitioners in the petition. As mentioned above, though the Registrar General of the Court was required to engage a counsel and file his response, but given the above development, we thought it unnecessary to prolong the matter and somehow insist upon the Registrar General to file his response, for, the mistake on the part of the concerned Registry officers in importing and applying the provisions of the SRO to the petitioners -employees of the High Court -is writ large on the very face of the matter.

5. We heard Mr. M. A. Baigh, learned AAG, representing the State-respondent and considered the matter.

6. SRO 202 dated 30.06.2015 has been issued by the Governor of the State in exercise of powers conferred by the proviso to Section 124 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, promulgating the Jammu and Kashmir Special Recruitmen