Srinagar, Apr 6: Expressing displeasure over non-compliance of its orders for regularization of daily rated workers in the Public Health Engineering Department, the High Court has directed for initiating contempt proceedings against a top Government official.
 A single bench of Justice Hasnain Massodi in his 20-page judgment while serving notice to the then Commissioner Secretary Finance, Sudhansu Pandey asking him why he should not be punished for the civil contempt. The Court has given him two weeks to respond. 
 “I am satisfied Sudhansu Pandey Commissioner Secretary to government Finance Department has committed civil contempt …by willfully disobeying the writ Court order passed on Oct 19, 2000,” the Court held.
 On October 19, 2000, Court had disposed of 11 writ petitions of the daily rated workers  with the direction that Chief Engineer will appoint a panel of two officers to look into the factual aspect with regard to the claim of petitioners for their genuine engagement as daily rated workers.
 The Court had directed the then Chief Engineer PHE to complete the exercise under his supervision within three months. The Court held that in case the report of the panel attested that the petitioners have worked uninterruptedly for a period of seven years, then their engagement is genuine and the respondents would process their cases for regularization.
 It said the petitioners are at liberty to file evidence of their engagement orders and the documents in support of their claims before the Chief Engineer.
 The Government had dispensed with the services of 446 daily rated workers who were working in PHE Division Handwara in 1992 on the grounds that their engagement orders were fake.
 Following the government action, the disbanded workers approached the High Court seeking direction to the respondents to allow them to perform their duties and regularize their services.
 The Chief Engineer vide his consideration report no PHE/LS/12198-201 on  September 16, 2008 had admitted that 233 daily rated workers were cleared by the committee and the instructions were sought from the administrative department  for their regularization.
 The Administrative department forwarded the petitioners case to the Commissioner Secretary Finance department for concurrence to their regularization.
 However, the Commissioner Secretary, constituted an empowered committee of which he was the chairman held that none of the petitioners were entitled to regularization under SRO 64.  The petitioners were represented by Advocate R A Jan.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 6 Apr 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 6 Apr 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 7 Apr 2012 00:00:00 IST