Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) stops salary of senior JKAS officer

GNS ONLINE NEWS PORTAL

JAMMU, MAR 19:- A Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) comprising Member (J) Rajinder Singh Dogra and Member (A) Ram Mohan Johri, while expressing its displeasure over the non-filing of reply, has stopped the salary of JKAS officer Shubhra Sharma, the then Director Animal Husbandry Jammu and presently Managing Director, Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihood Mission-UMEED, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.

The order in this regard has been passed by the CAT in an application filed by Anu Bala, Assistant Director, Fisheries Department, presently posted at Udhampur challenging the report of the Committee Against Sexual Harassment at Workplace (CASH) which was headed by Shubhra Sharma being its Chairperson on the ground that the Committee did not follow the procedure and the guidelines/SOPs framed by the Government of India on the basis of Vishakha Guidelines, and the law laid down by the Supreme Court was not implemented in its letter and spirit and the entire enquiry was conducted in a manner unknown to law.

The Bench of CAT, while taking serious note of casual approach of Chairperson of the CASH Committee of the Animal Husbandry Department, observed, “vide orders dated 18-10-2024, 20-11-2024 , 18-12-2024 and 10-02-2025, the respondents were granted last and final opportunity to file their reply and it was made clear that in case the same is not filed, then coercive action would be taken against them. Despite this, the respondents did not bother to file reply till date, after availing sufficient time”.

The CAT was infuriated over the callous attitude and conduct of the senior JKAS officer and her non-serious approach towards the court orders. “Non filing of the reply by the respondents leads to unnecessary delay in giving justice to the litigants and justice delayed is justice denied. The poor litigants who have no access to the administration, knock the door of this court in the hope that they will get justice here. The aggrieved litigant is running from pillar to post in order to get justice. It is very unfortunate that due to the callous attitude of officers/officials, public faith in the judiciary is getting eroded”, the CAT added.

With these serious observations, the Bench of CAT directed that salary of Shubhra Sharma (JKAS), the then Director Animal Husbandry, Jammu (presently MD JKRLM) be stopped with immediate effect till further orders.