LI Network
Published on: January 4, 2024 at 21:32 IST
The Supreme Court has urged the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to refrain from summoning officials of the J&K Union Territory needlessly regarding the establishment of positions within the High Court premises.
This direction followed a special leave petition filed by the J&K administration, expressing concern over repeated summoning of officials by the High Court.
In a hearing presided over by Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Mishra, the Court permitted the proceedings to continue at the High Court but emphasized that summoning officials personally should not be insisted upon without valid reason.
The Additional Solicitor General representing the J&K government highlighted the extension of the petition’s scope by the High Court beyond its initial intent, underscoring the repetitive summoning of senior officers and the ongoing phased consideration for creating additional positions.
Acknowledging the High Court’s repeated summoning of officials, which even included coercive measures like stoppage of salaries, the Supreme Court Bench noted its interference in the phased deliberations of the UT government concerning position creation.
Consequently, the Supreme Court directed that officials from the UT need not appear in person unnecessarily and anticipated the UT government’s discretion in creating positions as per necessity.
This directive aligns with the recent Supreme Court judgment advising against the frequent summoning of government officials by High Courts, accompanied by a set of guidelines.
