Sr. No. 70 Regular List IN THE HIGH C0URT 0F JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH AT SRINAGAR WP (C) No. 2606/2024 M/S Adventure Tours and another …Petitioner(s)/appellant(s) Through: Ms. Mehreen Altaf, Advocate Vs. UT of JK & Ors. ...Respondent(s) Through: Mr. Satinder Singh, AAG with Mr. Furqan Sofi, GA CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE RAHUL BHARTI, JUDGE O R D E R 18.02.2025 1. The two petitioners namely M/s Adventure Tours, Laripora, Pahalgam and M/s Paradise Adventure, Pahalgam, operate and conduct their activities within the jurisdiction of the Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) pursuant to the valid permissions granted in their favour by the Directorate of Tourism, Kashmir. 2. Pursuant to their respective permissions, the two petitioners through their respective sole proprietors have been carrying out the permitted adventure tourist activity. 3. However issuance of an order No. 233 PDA of 2024 dated 06.11.2024 passed by the Chief Executive Officer, (CEO) Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA), Pahalgam got not only the petitioners but all the adventure tourist operators in a state of suspended activity by reference to premise that till all formalities are fulfilled by adventure agencies all the adventure Arif Hameed I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document 10.03.2025 activities otherwise permitted by the Director Tourism Kashmir, vide No. DTK/Rec/3/2022-06/2747 dated 18.05.2022 read with order dated 29.06.2022 and 06.02.2023, to stay suspended. 4. The petitioners found themselves clueless as to which formalities in their respective case have been found to be lacking from their end and, thus, came to this court with the present petition assailing the Order No. 233 PDA of 2024 dated 06.11.2024 as being unfair and arbitrary. 5. This court, in terms of an order dated 10.02.2025, came to direct personal appearance of the Chief Executive officer, (CEO) Pahalgam Development Authority, (PDA) so as to have assistance from his end in the understanding of the matter. 6. Today, Dr. Alyaz Ahmad, CEO, Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) has come present in person stating that he has taken over from Mr. Tariq Hussain, JKAS the predecessor-in- office, joining on 01.02.2025. This Court has made it known to Dr. Alyaz Ahmad CEO, Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA), Pahalgam that a generalized order cannot be meant to operate without any specific reference to each and every individual tourist operator operating within the jurisdiction of Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) unless and until specific deficiencies in terms of fulfillment of requirements as laid out for enjoining the permission for engaging any Arif Hameed I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document 10.03.2025 adventure tourism are pointed out to a particular adventure tourist operator for justifying the suspension of the permission till the fulfillment of the formalities lacking in individual case. 7. As such, this court directs the Chief Executive Officer, Pahalgam Development Authority, PDA Pahalgam to deal individual wise with each and every adventure tourist operator within Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) be it for the sake of continuation or discontinuation of the adventure tourist activity in terms of formalities found fulfilled or lacking qua particular adventure tourist operator. 8. Let the needful exercise be done within a period of two weeks and accordingly the further course of activities at the end of adventure tourist operators within jurisdiction of Pahalgam Development Authority shall be permissible. 9. Disposed of. (RAHUL BHARTI) JUDGE SRINAGAR 18.02.2025 ARIF Arif Hameed I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document 10.03.2025