Srinagar: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Monday directed the government to clear its stand with respect to regularisation of daily wagers working in the State Judiciary.

The court called for a response from state authorities to indicate why funds were not being provided for payment of wages to the daily-wagers of the subordinate judiciary and why they were not being paid the same wages as being paid to other workers discharging the same duties.

The bench of Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul while hearing pleas with respect to the issue of daily wagers working for the judiciary noted that the court will deal with the issues of daily wagers on separate basis after it separated the issue from the main PIL no.260/2014 which was filed concerning the infrastructure and land of District Court Complex Bandipora.

The court while directing the Registry to compile all the relevant material concerning daily wagers separately, recorded that from here on court will deal with the creation of requisite Class IV posts in the establishment of the High Court and the subordinate judiciary, payment of wages to all Class IV employees and for release of necessary funds in connection thereto, entitlement of the daily-wagers for equal pay for equal work at par with other workers discharging similar and equal work.

On 8 August, 2016, the court had recorded that there were 98 daily-wage workers in the High Court and 228 daily-wage workers in the subordinate courts of the state.

Thereafter, the High Court had passed a slew of directions to the respondents and had noted that they were duty bound to create an equal number of Class IV posts for adjustment of such daily-wage workers.

In a crucial order passed in the matter on 4 December, 2020, the court noted that two issues pertaining to wages payable to the daily-wagers working in the judiciary and their absorption/ regularization were highlighted.

“In the presence of the Government officials, upon deliberation in context with the above two issues, it was decided that the High Court shall constitute an Empowered Committee for scrutinizing the cases of daily-wagers engaged in the State judiciary for their absorption in terms of SRO 520 dated 21December, 2017 and thereafter sent a report in this regard to the Law Department for allocation of requisite funds for the same,” the court said.

The court today again directed the Registrar General to inform the action taken with regard to the constitution of the Empowered Committee and the progress, if any, thereof.

NUSRAT SIDIQ