A division bench of J&K High Court today reserved its orders on the matter relating to impending Darbar Move amid the outbreak of coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Gita Mittal and JusticeRajnesh Oswal reserved its orders on the matter after hearing the submissionson the issue.
Advocate Monika Kohli, amicus curiae in various PILs onCovid-19, told the court that thedisclosure of the huge financial outlay, the manpower and enterprise involvedin the Darbar Move, suggested that ideally “both the secretariats” are requiredto be functional in both the places round the year.
The amicus submitted that in 1872 the then Maharaja RanbirSingh shifted the Darbar from Srinagar to Jammu as an arrangement for thewinter months which has continued over the years.
“There has been no examination of the efficiency or utilityof this arrangement which was commenced only on account of weather reasons,”she said.
Additional Advocate General, Amit Gupta filed additionalreport of the General Administration Department which said all records of theUnion Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are presently lying at Jammu office andhave not been shifted.
Three more reports were submitted before court regarding theDarbar Move. The reports divulged that tentative seven days’ salary expenditureincurred by government departments of the Annual Darbar Move comes to Rs1158.723 lakh.
AAG Gupta, on behalf of the Financial Commissioner, FinanceDepartment, produced a list of 151 departments including PSUs and statutorycorporations, which are a part of the Darbar Move, an official handout said.
The AAG submitted that in view of recent hike in the numberof Covid-19 cases and the need for its effective control, the annual DarbarMove arrangements have been reviewed.
Gupta submitted that the government has observed that theformal opening of the Darbar on 4 May 2020 as ordered vide government orderdated 10 April 2020 may affect Covid-19 control efforts in the Union Territory.”The order has therefore been partially modified by another order dated 17April 2020 providing that the formal opening of the Darbar at Srinagar shalltake place on 15 June 2020.”
After hearing the government’s submission, the benchreserved its order in the matter.