The Kashmir Dialogues
SRINAGAR, June 23: In a decisive move, a local court has issued bailable warrants and attached the salaries of the Commissioner/Secretaries of Revenue and R&B departments, Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal, and other high-ranking officials for failing to comply with court orders regarding land compensation.
Sub-Judge Ganderbal, Fayaz Ahmad Qureshi, acted on an execution petition by litigants seeking compliance with an October 2022 judgment. The court had ruled that compensation must be paid to landowners for land acquired by the government for road widening in Choutwaliwar Lar, Ganderbal.
Despite the court’s directive for compensation assessment and payment within two months, the authorities failed to comply, prompting the landowners to file an execution petition. The court criticized the officials for undermining the justice system, noting that such disregard is intolerable in a state governed by the rule of law.
The court has issued bailable warrants of Rs. 50,000 each against the Commissioner/Secretary Revenue, Commissioner/Secretary R&B Department, Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal, Tehsildar Lar, Chief Engineer R&B Rajbagh Srinagar, and Executive Engineer R&B Division Ganderbal. DIG Central has been tasked with executing the warrants, with instructions to take the officials into custody if they fail to furnish bail bonds.
Additionally, the court has ordered the attachment of the officials’ salaries until the judgment is complied with. The concerned DDOs and Treasury Officers have been instructed to withhold their salaries to enforce compliance and ensure the litigants receive their rightful compensation.
M S Nazki
