‘Left in the lurch, some candidates have plunged into mental depression while many were refused marriage by their fiancées.’
Ashiq Hussain
SRINAGAR: An apparent tussle between the state’s law department and judiciary has put the career of many management graduates of Jammu and Kashmir in jeopardy.
The executives of state law department and administration of the judiciary have locked horns over the selection process of court managers, the recruitment for which was completed by Public Service Commission (PSC) from February to August 2012.
While 24 candidates with MBA degree were selected among 2,000 aspirants by PSC on behalf of law department, the registry of high court has refused to issue them appointment orders even after the lapse of seven months, saying that the court was not kept in loop for the selection.
“We have sent them (judiciary) an intimation informing them about the list of selected candidates. But it is unfortunate that the orders have not been issued for their appointment,” GH Tantray, commissioner secretary of law said.
Registrar general of high Court Suresh Kumar Sharma said the law department and PSC did not follow proper procedure for the selection.
“The selection of court managers was done without the involvement of chief justice of the state. It is a violation of mandatory recruitment procedure of the court,” Sharma said. It has now formed a committee to look into the issue.
The posts of court managers were created by the government with the intention of reducing the burden of judges by delegating their non-judicial or administrative work to trained management graduates. The 13th Finance Commission asked state to provide qualified court managers with degrees in management (such as MBA) or law to be employed to assist judges.
The move was expected to help clear pendency in the courts which has piled up-to 2.5 lakh cases in the state.
The selection of the candidates was done after a grilling process and many of those selected have left their earlier jobs to complete the formalities. They are now doing the rounds of court and law department but to no avail. In desperation, the selected candidates have even written to chief minister, governor and state law minister of their plight.
“Nobody seems bothered. We even met law minister Mir Saifullah who said that he will talk to chief justice MM Kumar,” said an aggrieved candidate, not wishing to be identified.
The delay has led to some severe consequences on the normal lives of those selected.
“All of us were at good positions in private sector earning handsomely. Some were in government sector. After the appointment we left those jobs to complete the formalities. We have been left in lurch,” said another selected candidate who would earn around Rs. 35,000 per month in a corporate office.
“Some were even refused marriage by their fiancées while many have plunged into depression,” he said.
(Hindustan Times)
