51 Regular HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT SRINAGAR CCP(S) No. 475/2021 In WP(C) No. 1058/2021 Mohammad Shafi Yatoo and Ors. ….. Petitioner (s) Through: Mr. Mian Tufail, Adv. V/s Mr. Mohammad Rafi Vice Chairman Srinagar Dev. Autority ….. Respondent(s) Through: Mr. Numan Idress Malik, GA WP(C) No. 1058/2021 WP(C) No. 894/2021 Mohammad Shafi Yatoo and Ors. Shahid Gull ….. Petitioner (s) Through: Mr. Mian Tufail, Adv. V/s UT of J&K and Ors. Housing and Urban Development Department ….. Respondent(s) Through: Mr. Numan Idress Malik, GA Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sanjay Dhar, Judge ORDER 14.07.2025 1. Through the medium of present order, the aforetitled two writ petitions seeking release of wages in favour of the petitioners for the P a g e | 2 CCP(S) No. 475/2021 WP (C)No. 1058/2021 WP (C)No. 894/2021 period they have actually worked with the respondents are proposed to be disposed of. 2. It is pertinent to mention here that initially the writ petitions were filed by the petitioners seeking a direction for continuance of their services but the learned counsel for the petitioners has made a statement that since the petitioners stand already disengaged as such, they are restricting their claim only to the extent of payment of wages for the period they have actually worked with the respondents. 3. According to the petitioners, they were engaged as Subject Specialist/Consultants and Professional Experts for preparation of Master Plan/Zonal Plan of Anantnag City and Srinagar City after undergoing proper selection process. It is further case of the petitioners that they were formally engaged w.e.f March 2018 and they were paid their salaries up to August 2018. But beyond that, their salaries have not been paid by the respondents, though petitioners continue to perform their duties with the respondents. On this ground, the petitioners have sought release of their outstanding salaries 4. The stand of the respondents is that the petitioners were hired as Professionals on temporary basis for preparation of Zonal Plan on P a g e | 3 CCP(S) No. 475/2021 WP (C)No. 1058/2021 WP (C)No. 894/2021 consolidated monthly remuneration w.e.f March 2018 up to February 2019 for a time period of 12 months or till the completion of Zonal Plan whichever is earlier. It has been submitted that after expiration of the contract period, services of the petitioners have been disengaged vide Circulars dated 02.08.2019 and 18.06.2019 whereby they have been informed about expiration of their contracts. It has been submitted that the petitioners have been paid legitimate wages/remuneration from March 2018 up to February 2019 and July 2018 to June 2019. It has been further submitted that due to abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution on 5th August 2019, the offices remained closed whereafter Covid-19 Pandemic intervened, therefore the claim of the petitioners that they have worked with the respondents even after expiry of their contracts is not tenable. 5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record of the case. 6. During the pendency of the writ petitions, an interim order came to be passed by this Court on 04.02.2023. The same is reproduced as under: “Mr. Mian Tufail, learned counsel for the petitioners restricts his claim for payment of petitioners wages for the period they have worked as admitted by the respondents in its P a g e | 4 CCP(S) No. 475/2021 WP (C)No. 1058/2021 WP (C)No. 894/2021 communication dated 27.08.2021 addressed to the Principal Secretary to Government, Housing and Urban Development Department, J&K Civil Secretariat, Srinagar. Para 4 of the communication reads as under:- "The contractual of Srinagar and Anantnag were disengaged vide Circular No. Circular/CTPK/19/1774 dated 02.08.2019 & Circular/CTPK/19/1351 dated 18.06.2019. However, the office enquiry and records indicate that the circulars were not served on the concerned professionals whose services were discontinued. They continued to work beyond the period of 12 months being involve ed in office work which inter alia includes the works transcending the Master Plan Srinagar/Anantnag (Copy enclosed)". It is clear from the communication that the petitioners had worked and were involved in the office work including the works transcending the Master Plan Srinagar/Anantnag. Petitioners are, thus, required to be paid for the period they have worked as admitted in the aforesaid communication by the respondents. It is directed to the respondents to pay legitimate earned wages to the petitioners as admitted by them in the above referred communication within two weeks and report compliance to this Court on the next date of hearing”. 7. In pursuance to the aforesaid order, the respondents have passed the consideration order dated 18.10.2024 whereby claim of the petitioners for release of legitimately earned wages has been rejected. In the said consideration order, the respondents have taken a stand that there was no extension of service contracts of the petitioners and due to abrogation of Article 370 P a g e | 5 CCP(S) No. 475/2021 WP (C)No. 1058/2021 WP (C)No. 894/2021 of the Constitution and Covid-19 Pandemic, the offices of the respondents remained closed, as such, claim of the petitioners that they had worked with the respondents even beyond the contract period is not tenable. 8. The question that is required to be determined in these writ petitions is that whether the petitioners have performed their functions beyond expiry of their service contracts and if so up to which date. 9. It is an admitted case of the parties that the respondents have not paid wages/remuneration to the petitioners beyond the date of expiry of their service contracts. For this purpose, the petitioners have placed heavy reliance upon communication dated 27.08.2021 addressed by the Chief Town Planner to Principal Secretary to Government Housing and Urban Development Department in which it has been submitted that the contractual services of the petitioners were disengaged vide Circular dated 02.08.2019 and 18.06.2019. However, the office enquiry and records indicate that these Circulars were never served upon the petitioners and they continued to work beyond the period of 12 months being involved with office work which P a g e | 6 CCP(S) No. 475/2021 WP (C)No. 1058/2021 WP (C)No. 894/2021 inter alia includes works transcending the Master Plan Srinagar/Anantnag. It has been further stated in the said communication that the petitioners continued to work up to 20.03.2020 till the intervention of Covid-19 Lockdown. 10. The respondents, by countering the aforesaid admission made by the Chief Town Planner, contend that the matter is being enquired into and the claim of the petitioners is false. It has been submitted that the experience certificates issued in favour of the petitioners wherein it is indicated that they were continuing in service, are not valid and that enquiry has already been held in the matter whereafter the officers responsible for issuing experience certificates in favour of the petitioners, are being proceeded against and in fact charge sheet has already been issued to one of the officers. 11. If we have a look at the enquiry report dated 21.11.2023 rendered by the Enquiry Officer, even in the said enquiry report, it has been indicated that the petitioners worked without proper order of extension even after issuance of disengagement order/notice. The findings of the enquiry report are reproduced as under: P a g e | 7 CCP(S) No. 475/2021 WP (C)No. 1058/2021 WP (C)No. 894/2021 “Findings: “As per the letter from the then Chief Town Planner to the Administrative Deptt. Vide No. Court/Contractuals/ CTPK/2021/2055; dated: 27.08.2021 the Principal Secretary to Govt. H&UDD at Point no. 4 & 5 was informed as follows:".........• that the contractual of Srinagar and Anantnag were disengaged vide circular No. Circular /CTPK/ 19/1774; dated: 02.08.2019 & Circular/CTPK/19/1351 dated: 18.06.2019. However, the office enquiry and records indicate that the circulars were not served on the concerned professionals whose services were discontinued. They continued to work beyond the period of 12- Months being involved in office work which inter alia includes the works transcending the Master Plan Srinagar/ Anantnag & The contractual hired for Srinagar Master Plan continued upto 20.02.2020 till the eve of Covid-19 Lockdown as per the office attendance and the experience certificates were issued tothem....." After perusal of records and communications made, it came to fore that the contractuals (Petitioners) worked without proper order of extension and even after issuance of disengagement order/notices. Furthermore, the experience certificate also stands issued in favour of the contractuals by the then CTP for the period including the period under claim”. P a g e | 8 CCP(S) No. 475/2021 WP (C)No. 1058/2021 WP (C)No. 894/2021 12. From the aforesaid enquiry report, it is clear that the petitioners have worked with the respondents till 20th February 2020 which is borne out from the records of the respondents and the admission made by them in their various inter departmental communications. It may be correct that the petitioners have worked with the respondents even after expiry of their contract without any extension from the competent authority, but the fact of the matter remains that the petitioners have rendered their services to the respondents up to 20.03.2020 whereafter due to intervention of Covid-19 Pandemic, most of the offices in whole of the country remained closed for physical functioning. 13. The contention of the respondents that even prior to Covid-19 Pademic, their offices remained closed due to situation arising out of abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution is far from truth. It is a fact of common knowledge that after abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution on 5th August, 2019, the function of Government offices in the Kashmir Valley was affected hardly for a few weeks and most of the Government Offices continued to function from the month of September 2019 onwards. The contention of the respondents that their offices remained closed right from August 2019 to 20.05.2020 is far P a g e | 9 CCP(S) No. 475/2021 WP (C)No. 1058/2021 WP (C)No. 894/2021 from reality and a ploy to deny legitimately earned remuneration to the petitioners. 14. The respondents may be well within their jurisdiction to proceed against their officers who allowed the petitioners to function and perform their duties beyond the expiry of period of their contracts and they may also be justified to proceed against the officers who were responsible for serving order of disengagement upon the petitioners but they cannot deny the wages/remuneration to the petitioners for the period they have actually worked, which is up to 20.03.2020. Once work has been extracted from the petitioners for a certain period, they become entitled to remuneration for the said period. 15. For the foregoing reasons, the writ petitions are disposed of with a direction to the respondents to release the wages/remuneration in favour of the petitioners up to 20.03.2020 at the rate at which they were drawing it in terms of their service contracts. The needful shall be done by the respondents within a period of two months from the date a certified true copy of this order is made available to them failing which the arrears of wages shall carry interest @ 6% per annum from the date the same became due to the petitioners. P a g e | 10 CCP(S) No. 475/2021 WP (C)No. 1058/2021 WP (C)No. 894/2021 CCP(S) No. 475/2021: The instant contempt petition has been filed by the petitioner for non-compliance of interim order dated 02.06.2021 passed in WP(C) No. 1058/2021. Since petition bearing WP(C) No. 1058/2021 stands disposed of as above, therefore, the interim order stands merged with the final order. Thus the contempt proceedings do not survive. The contempt petition is disposed of accordingly. (Sanjay Dhar) Judge SRINAGAR 14.07.2025 Aasif Whether the order is speaking Yes/No Whether the order is reportable Yes/No.