"Preventive Detention Law Invoked With Less Seriousness Than Traffic Challan": J&K&L High Court Orders Release Of Man

In a strong indictment of executive overreach, the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has held that the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 was invoked against a young man “by non-seriousness of standard with which even a motorist is not subjected to a routine traffic challan,” quashing his preventive detention as illegal from its very inception.Delivering the judgment...

Accepting Alternative Cadre Promotion Without Protest; Can't Challenge Juniors' Elevation In Parent Cadre : J&K HC

A Division Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court comprising Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Sanjay Parihar held that an employee who accepts promotion to a different cadre without challenging the promotions of his juniors in a parallel cadre, when the employer had relaxed the qualifications for others based on seniority, cannot subsequently seek retrospective parity...

“What Is Casual For Srinagar DM Is Causality To Fundamental Rights”: J&K&L High Court Quashes Arbitrary Detention, Orders Immediate Release

In a scathing indictment of administrative casualness in preventive detention matters, the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has quashed a detention order passed under the Public Safety Act, observing that “what is a casual for the District Magistrate Srinagar is a causality to the fundamental right of the personal liberty of the petitioner.”Justice Rahul Bharti, while allowing...

J&K&L High Court Sets Aside CAT Order Granting Sanction For Foreign Job; Says Taking Overseas Assignment Without Prior Permission Is Misconduct

Holding that Schedule XIX of the CSR and Rule 14(b) of the Leave Rules read in conjunction with Rule 10 of the Conduct Rules leave “no iota of doubt” that a Government servant who takes up foreign assignment without prior permission commits misconduct inviting disciplinary action, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has set aside a Central Administrative Tribunal order that...

Challenge To 1985 Wakf Property Notification Fails After 33 Years: J&K&L High Court Says Only Aggrieved Persons Can Maintain Writ

Reaffirming the limits of writ jurisdiction and the doctrine of delay and laches, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has dismissed a petition challenging SRO 320 dated 31.08.1985, a Government notification that published a list of Wakf properties in parts of Tehsil Poonch.The Court held that only a person suffering a legally enforceable injury can invoke Article 226, and...

'State Cannot Forfeit Money For Its Own Lapses': J&K&L High Court Pulls Up JDA For Auctioning Encroached Land, Imposes ₹50K Cost

Observing that contractual forfeiture clauses cannot be pressed into service mechanically to penalise a citizen for lapses attributable to the State, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that where the alleged default itself flows from the failure of the authority, forfeiture of earnest money and denial of allotment would be wholly arbitrary and unsustainable...

Once Pension Is Credited To Bank Account, It Loses Statutory Protection & Can Be Recovered For Guarantor's Liability: J&K&L High Court

Explaining that the statutory protection over pensionary benefits does not extend beyond the stage of actual payment, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that once pensionary benefits are credited to a pensioner's bank account, they lose the protection under Section 11 of the Pensions Act, 1871 and can be subjected to recovery towards enforceable contractual...

Need To Record Reasons While Granting Bail In Heinous Crimes, Mechanical Bail Orders Impermissible: J&K&L High Court

Emphasising that bail orders in serious criminal cases cannot be passed in a cursory or mechanical manner, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that courts are duty-bound to indicate reasons reflecting a prima facie satisfaction while granting bail, particularly where the accused is charged with grave offences punishable with death or life imprisonment.Justice Rajnesh...

State Can't Arbitrarily Scrap Near-Complete Recruitment, Constitutional Courts Can Intervene If Decision Lacks Rationality: J&K&L High Court

Emphasising that the State's power to abandon a recruitment process is not absolute, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that once a selection process reaches an advanced stage, its cancellation must rest on justifiable and rational grounds.The Court underscored that Constitutional Courts, in exercise of judicial review, are empowered to scrutinize such decisions and...

J&K&L High Court Orders NHAI To Initiate Acquisition Or Restore Land Illegally Occupied Since 1957 Without Compensation

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that the State and its instrumentalities cannot continue to occupy private land for decades without initiating acquisition proceedings or paying compensation, reiterating that deprivation of property without authority of law violates the constitutional and human right to property protected under Article 300-A of the Constitution.Justice...

Re-Testing Of NDPS Samples Cannot Be Allowed Routinely, Haphazardly Importing Rights From Other Statutes Impermissible: J&K&L High Court

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has held that Re-testing may be an important right of an accused, but its mechanical and haphazard import from other legislations without the accompanying statutory restrictions is impermissible.The court underscored that under the NDPS Act, re-testing cannot be permitted as a matter of routine and is strictly barred in the absence of compelling...

J&K&L High Court Issues Notice On PIL Alleging Non-Implementation Of Public Service Guarantee Act, Seeks Response From UT Govt

The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court issued notice in a Public Interest Litigation seeking effective implementation of the Jammu & Kashmir Public Service Guarantee Act, 2011 (PSGA) and the Rules framed thereunder.A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal was hearing the PIL filed by Sheikh Ghulam Rasool, a doctor, environmentalist and...