On Saturday, CAT chairman L Narasimha Reddy said that the High Court Jammu & Kashmir need not be so apprehensive about the disposal of cases by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).
Refuting the allegations made by J&K HC Chief Justice Gita Mittal, in a letter written to the Centre, over the tribunal’s ability to handle service matters of the employees, justice Reddy said the tribunal has recorded the disposal rate of 104 per cent in the past few months.
Justice Reddy in an official release clarified, “A news item appeared in print as well as electronic media on the basis of the DO letter dated May 8 said to have been addressed by the chief justice of J&K HC to the Union minister Jitendra Singh. The subject seems to be about the establishment of benches of CAT in the Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir & Ladakh".
He added that “A DO letter happens to be the communication between its author & the addressee & it is not made public particularly when it is between highly placed dignitaries. Since the news item was only about the establishment of the Benches & is a matter of relevance for the CAT, I contacted the minister to know about the subject. He informed me that he did not receive the letter either in the form of a hard copy or through e-mail".
Going by what is published in the media, it appears that the Chief Justice expressed concern over the ability of the tribunal to handle the service matters of the UT as & when transferred. Comparative statements were also furnished as regards the pendency in the entire tribunal on one hand & the pendency of service matters in the High Court on the other hand. Many statements in the attachment of the news item on a legal website were indeed not called for & at any rate, were not a matter of concern for the High Court.
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