Uoi And Ors vs Swami Raj
2025 Latest Caselaw 2286 J&K

Jammu & Kashmir High Court

Uoi And Ors vs Swami Raj on 8 October, 2025

Author: Sanjeev Kumar

Bench: Sanjeev Kumar

                                                                         Sr. No. 13



       HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH
                       AT JAMMU

WP (C) No. 1664/2025

UOI and Ors.                                            .....Applicant(s)/Petitioner(s)

                                 Through :- Mr. Vishal Sharma, DSGI with
                                            Mr. Eishaan Dadhichi, Advocate
                          v/s
Swami Raj                                                          .....Respondent(s)

                                 Through :- None


CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV KUMAR, JUDGE
       HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJAY PARIHAR, JUDGE

                                ORDER(ORAL)

08.10.2025

Sanjeev Kumar J

1. Impugned in this petition, filed by the Union of India under Article

226 of the Constitution of India, is an order and judgment dated

29.11.2018 passed by the Armed Forces Tribunal, Regional Bench,

Srinagar at Jammu ["the Tribunal"] in OA No. 571/2018 titled

"Ex. Sep Swami Raj vs. Union of India and Ors." to the extent it

does not provide for restricting the payment of arrears to three years

immediately preceding the filing of OA (supra).

2. The impugned judgment is challenged on the ground that the

Tribunal has not appreciated the fact that the respondent had

approached the Tribunal after more than five years of the accrual of

cause of action and, therefore, could not have been held entitled to

the arrears for the entire period.

3. It is seen that this petition is hit by delay and laches as the petitioner

has approached this Court after seven years after the passing of the

judgment impugned. Reliance is placed on a Division Bench

judgment of this Court dated 15.07.2025 passed in WP (C) No.

1804/2025, in which, under a similar set of circumstances, this

Court has declined to interfere with the judgment passed in the OA

on the ground of inordinate delay and laches.

4. Having heard learned counsel for the petitioners and perused the

judgment impugned, we are of the considered opinion that this

petition is hit by delay and laches.

5. Indisputably, the judgment in OA No. 571 of 2018, which is

impugned in this petition was pronounced on 29.11.2018 and the

same unequivocally held the respondent entitled to arrears, without

imposing any restriction of time, to be paid by the petitioners,

within a stipulated period. The judgment was all along in the notice

of the petitioners. The execution petition filed by the respondent

before the Tribunal in the year 2019 is being contested by the

petitioners. In these circumstances, the petitioners cannot plead

ignorance of the judgment or its import on any ground whatsoever.

6. We have gone through the memorandum of writ petition and the

annexures appended thereto and do not find any good explanation

coming forth to explain the delay of more than seven years in

approaching this Court. Relying upon the judgment passed by a

Division Bench of this Court (supra), we are of the considered view

that this petition, too, is hit by inordinate delay and laches and,

therefore, cannot be entertained.

7. For the foregoing reasons, we are not inclined to entertain this

petition and the same, is accordingly, dismissed.

                          (Sanjay Parihar)                  (Sanjeev Kumar)
                              Judge                               Judge

JAMMU
06.10.2025
Manik




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