WP(C) No.1496/2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT SRINAGAR Reserved on: 12.05.2026 Pronounced on: 15 .05.2026 Uploaded on: 15.05.2026 Whether operative part or full judgment is pronounced: Full WP(C) No.1496/2025 MUDASIR AHMAD NAZAR & ORS. ... PETITIONER(S) Through: - Mr. Zubair, Advocate. Vs. UT OF J&K AND OTHERS …RESPONDENT(S) Through: - Mr. Waseem Gull, GA. CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJAY DHAR, JUDGE JUDGMENT 1) The petitioners, through the medium of present petition, has challenged order No.92-MV of 2024 dated 13.12.2024 issued by respondent No.2 to respondent No.1, whereby their claim for release of remuneration/salary has been rejected. The petitioners have also sought a direction upon the respondents to release remuneration/salary in their favour with effect from 25.08.2022 to 28.03.2023. 2) As per case of the petitioners, they were appointed as Chairpersons/Members of Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards vide Government Order No.10-SW pf 2018 dated 12.01.2018 and Order No.52-SW of 2018 dated 06.02.2018, initially for a period of three years. It has been submitted that pursuant to coming into force of the Jammu and WP(C) No.1496/2025 Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2013 (for short “JJ Act of 2013”) was repealed and it was replaced by the Central Act, namely, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (for short “JJ Act of 2015”). Since the petitioners were appointed in terms of repealed JJ Act of 2013 and the JJ Act of 2015 had come into force, as such, position and appointment of members of Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards underwent a change. 3) It has been submitted that the petitioners claimed that they were protected by law and were entitled to further extension and continuation as members of the Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards. On account of this dispute, the petitioners are stated to have filed a writ petition before this Court bearing WP(C) No.1742/2022, wherein an interim order came to be passed on 12.08.2022 protecting position of the petitioners. It has been submitted that another writ petition came to be filed before the Jammu wing of this Court in which an interim order came to be passed by the Court which resulted in continuation of the petitioners as members of the Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards. Thus, the petitioners on the strength of the aforesaid interim order continued in service of the respondents upto 29.03.2023. It has been submitted that WP(C) No.1742/2022 filed by the petitioners was dismissed by this Court in terms of order dated 28.03.2023, as a result of which the WP(C) No.1496/2025 petitioners ceased to function as members of the Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Board. 4) According to the petitioners, some of them have been reappointed in terms of the JJ Act of 2015 whereas some of the petitioners were not selected/appointed. However, all the petitioners are stated to have discharged their duties and functions even after the expiry of their term on 24.08.2022 on the strength of interim order passed by this Court. 5) The petitioners are stated to have filed a writ petition bearing WP(C) No.3217/2023 seeking a direction upon the respondents to release their remuneration/salary with effect from 25.08.2022 to 28.03.2023. The said writ petition came to be disposed of by this Court in terms of order dated 14.10.2024, whereby the respondents were directed to accord consideration to the case of the petitioners for release of salary. 6) Pursuant to the aforesaid order, the respondents have issued impugned order dated 13.12.2024, whereby they have rejected claim of the petitioners on the ground that no extension to their engagement has been granted beyond 24.08.2022, therefore, they are not entitled to any remuneration/salary beyond the said period. 7) The petitioners have challenged the impugned order passed by respondent No.2 on the grounds that once they have performed duties and functions as Chairpersons/members of the Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards on the strength WP(C) No.1496/2025 of interim order passed by the Court, they cannot be denied their legitimately earned remuneration/salary. It has been contended that the respondents have rejected claim of the petitioners on the flimsy ground that their term of engagement was not extended. It has also been contended that Division Bench of this Court has, in PIL No.09/2013, vide order dated 27.03.2023, recognized the fact that the Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards were in position even after their dissolution on 28.08.2022 in view of the interim order passed by the learned Single Judge. On the basis of this analogy, the petitioners who were manning these institutions, cannot be denied their remuneration/salary. 8) The respondents have contested the writ petition by filing their reply. In their reply, they have not denied the factual aspects of the case but they have claimed that since there was no contract existing between the petitioners and the respondents beyond 24.08.2022, as such, the respondents are not liable to pay any remuneration/salary to the petitioners. It has been contended that after termination of the contract of the petitioners on 24.08.2022, fresh selection process was initiated, whereafter appointment of Chairpersons and members of the Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards has been undertaken. It has been submitted that the claim of the petitioners has been considered in the light of rules governing the field and because there was no contract between the petitioners and the respondent department, as such, they were not held entitled to remuneration/salary. WP(C) No.1496/2025 9) I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused record of the case 10) As already stated, the factual aspects of the case are not in dispute. It is not in dispute that the petitioners have performed their duties as Chairpersons and members of the Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards beyond 24.08.2022 uptil the date their writ petition bearing WP(C) No.1742/2022 came to be dismissed by this Court. It is also not in dispute that on the strength of interim order passed in the aforesaid writ petition, engagement of the petitioners continued until dismissal of the said writ petition. The only issue that is to be determined is as to whether the respondents are legally justified in denying remuneration/salary to the petitioners for the period for which they have discharged their functions on the strength of interim order passed by this Court. 11) In the above context, it is to be noted that the Division Bench of this Court has, while passing order dated 27.03.2023 in PIL No.09/2013, expressed the view that the Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards, which were dissolved on 28.08.2022, are in position in terms of order of status quo passed by the learned Single Judge and, therefore, these institutions exercise all powers conferred upon them under the JJ Act of 2015 and the rules framed thereunder. Once the functions discharged by the petitioners while continuing in their office on the basis of interim order passed by the learned Single Judge of this Court, WP(C) No.1496/2025 have been recognized in law by the Division Bench of this Court, there is hardly any justification for denying remuneration/salary to the petitioners for the period for which they have actually worked. The respondents are, therefore, legally bound to pay the legitimately earned remuneration/salary to the petitioners for the period for which they have actually worked. The respondents cannot, on the one hand, avail services of the petitioners for operation of Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards, though the strength of interim order passed by this Court, and deny salary to them on the other hand. Doing so would be nothing but an exploitation which amounts to infringement of right to livelihood of the petitioners guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. Article 23 of the Constitution prohibits ‘begaar’, which means labour or service without paying remuneration for it. It is not open to an employer, particularly to a model employer like the Government, to extract work from its employees without paying remuneration for it as the same is violative of Article 23 of the Constitution. Thus, the petitioners cannot be denied salary/remuneration for the period they have actually worked. 12) For the foregoing reasons, the petition is allowed in the following terms: (I) The impugned order No.92-MV of 2024 dated 13.12.2024.2023, whereby claim of the petitioners for release of remuneration/salary beyond 24.08.2022 has been rejected, shall stand quashed. WP(C) No.1496/2025 (II) The respondents are directed to release remuneration/salary in favour of the petitioners with effect from 25.08.2022 to 28.03.2023 at the same rate at which they were being paid during the term of their engagement with the respondents. (III) The aforesaid amount of remuneration/salary shall be released by the respondents in favour of the petitioners within a period of two months from the date of this judgement, failing which the same shall carry interest @6% per annum from the date of filing of the writ petition till the date of its actual release. (Sanjay Dhar) Judge Srinagar, 15.05.2026 “Bhat Altaf-Secretary” Whether the JUDGMENT is reportable: YES/NO