JK News Today
Jammu, December 19:
Information received through an application under Right to Information Act reveals that there are over 950 cases pending in Srinagar and Jammu bench of Jammu and Kashmir High Court and Supreme Court of India involving Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) including 12 special leave petitions filed by the board itself before the Superior Courts.
Sanjay Gupta, Public Information Officer of the JKSSB in response to an RTI application filed by Raman Sharma, the RTI activist stated that as on date there are 938 cases pending against the board in the Srinagar and Jammu bench of the J & K High Court, two cases are also pending against the recruitment panel in the Supreme Court of India. Interestingly, the board itself have also filed 12 Special leave petitions in the High Court and Supreme Court.
These legal combats by the board are not only consuming the precious time of the recruitment panel but also devouring lot of money, during the last three financial years i.e. 2014-15 to 2016-17, the board have spent twenty-six lac sixty one thousand nine hundred and eighty four rupees as legal expenses to fight the cases in the courts. This include 19,62,280 rupees paid by the board to the lawyers as fees and 699704 spent as other legal expenses.
It is pertinent to mention here that JK Services Selection Board has been constituted in exercise of powers conferred by Provision of Section 124 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and also in the light of Section 15 of J&K Civil Services Decentralisation and Recruitment Act 2010, the board is responsible for making all kinds of non-gazetted appointments in different departments of the state government within time limit with impartiality, objectivity and efficiency using technological innovations.
In the RTI reply it has also been informed that the total annual budget of the board during the FY 2014-15 was Rs. 606.89 Lac, FY 2015-16 it was Rs 716.26 Lac, in the FY 2016-17 it stood as Rs 730.12 Lac and in 2017-18 it is Rs. 815.45 Lac.
In another RTI response to applicant Raman Sharma, it was revealed that against Jammu and Kashmir Public Services Commissioner, JKPSC there are 508 cases pending before J & K High Court and Supreme Court and it was also established that JKPSC have spent Rs. 34,83,200 as legal expenditure to fight these cases.
After the RTI revelation about the JKPSC and JKSSB, the applicant Sharma have appealed the Chief Justice of J & K High Court to constitute special benches or make some other arrangements so that these huge pending cases involving JKSSB and JKSPC are cleared expeditiously because these cases involve aspiring young educated youth of the state.
