HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

AT JAMMU

WP(C) No.187/2020

CM No.336/2020

Rattan Lal

...Petitioner(s)

Through:- Mr. Raghu Mehta, Advocate

V/s

Union Territory of J&K and others ...Respondent(s)

Through:- None

CORAM:

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV KUMAR, JUDGE

ORDER

1.

The petitioner, in this petition, essentially seeks a direction to

the respondents to regularize his services in terms of SRO 64 of 1994 in

J&K Project Construction Corporation Limited. The dispute raised in this

petition pertains to recruitment to a civil post under the Union Territory of

Jammu and Kashmir.

2.

It may be noted that prior to the promulgation of Jammu and

Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019 which came into force w.e.f 31^st October,

2019, the service disputes concerning the employees of erstwhile State of

Jammu and Kashmir and the Government of Jammu and Kashmir were not

amenable to the jurisdiction of Central Administrative Tribunal constituted

under the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 (>Act of 1985? for short).

However, from the appointed date i.e., 31^st October, 2019, two Union

Territories i.e, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory

of Ladakh were carved out of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir.

This was aftermath a declaration issued by the President of India in exercise

of powers conferred by clause (3) of Article 370 read with clause (I) of

Sr. No. 15

Supplementary-2

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Article 370 of Constitution of India whereby Article 370 was modified to,

inter alia, provide that all the provisions of the Constitution as amended

from time to time, without any modification or exception, would apply to the

State of Jammu and Kashmir. With the extension of all the provisions of

Constitution of India to the State of Jammu and Kashmir, Article 323 A of

Constitution of India too became applicable to the State of Jammu and

Kashmir. That apart, with the coming into force of the Jammu and Kashmir

Reorganization Act, 2019 and creation of Union Territory of Jammu and

Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh, the employees, who were earlier

serving in connection with the affairs of the State became proprio vigore the

employees of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory

of Ladakh.

3.

In terms of Section 14 of the Act of 1985, all the matters

concerning recruitment to any civil service of the Union Territory or a civil

post under the Union Territory became amenable to the jurisdiction of

Central Administrative Tribunal. It would be pertinent to note that in view of

explanation appended to sub-clause (c ) of clause (1) of Section 14 of the

Act of 1985, references to <Union= are to be construed as including

references also to a Union Territory. It is, thus, beyond any pale of doubt

that all the service matters including matters concerning recruitment to any

civil service of the Union Territory or a civil post under the Union Territory

are amenable to the jurisdiction of Central Administrative Tribunal and by

operation of Section 29 of the Act of 1985, all such matters pending before

any Court or other authority immediately before the date of establishment of

a Tribunal shall stand transferred on that date to such Tribunal.

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4.

In the instant case, from the appointed date when the Status of

State of Jammu and Kashmir and its employees changed to Union Territory

and the employees of Union Territory, cases coming within the ambit of

Central Administrative Tribunal would automatically stand transferred to

Central Administrative Tribunal. However, Government of India vide its

Notification No. 267