Central Administrative Tribunal - Jammu
Devi Dutta vs Geology And Mining Department on 2 February, 2026
:: 1 :: TA 668/2020
LLOWCENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
JAMMU BENCH, JAMMU (RESERVED)
Hearing through video conferencing
Transfer Application No. 668/2020
Reserved on: - 22.09.2025
Pronounced on: - 02.02.2026
HON'BLE MR. RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA, MEMBER (J)
HON'BLE MR. RAM MOHAN JOHRI, MEMBER (A)
Devi Dutta Aged 54 years S/o Sh. Paras Ram R/o Village Badrore
A/P Seri Rakwalan Tehsil and District, Jammu.
...Applicants
(Advocate: - Mr. Razat Sudan)
Versus
1. State of Jammu & Kashmir, Through Commissioner/Secretary
Revenue Department, Civil Sectt. Srinagar.
2. Director Geology and Mining Department, Srinagar.
3. Assistant Mining Engineer Geology and Mining Department DDO-III
Jammu.
...Respondents
(Advocate:- Mr. Rajesh Thappa, AAG
Mr. Hunar Gupta, DAG)
HARSHIT YADAV
HARSHIT
C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master,
PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat
Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone=
f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f,
SERIALNUMBER=
317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E=
YADAV [email protected], CN=HARSHIT YADAV
I am the author of this document
2026.02.03 09:57:13+05'30'
:: 2 :: TA 668/2020
ORDER
Per: - Rajinder Singh Dogra, Judicial Member
1. The SWP No.2119/2019 was transferred from the Hon'ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu and was registered as T.A No.668/2020 by the Registry of this Tribunal.
2. The present matter was filed before the Hon'ble High Court seeking following relief: -
a) commanding the respondents to release the salary of the petitioner and also command the respondent to mark the attendance of the petitioner regularly in the attendance register/Biometric attendance machine, serving as store class- E in favour of the petitioner against the respondents.
b) For issuance of any other interim or final relief as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and appropriate in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case.
3. The facts of the case as pleaded by the petitioner in his pleadings are as follows: -
a) The present Transfer Application arises out of SWP No. 2119/2019, which was initially filed before the Hon'ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu and, upon constitution of this Tribunal, stood transferred and registered as T.A. No. 668/2020.
HARSHIT YADAV HARSHIT C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E= YADAV [email protected], CN=HARSHIT YADAV I am the author of this document 2026.02.03 09:57:13+05'30' :: 3 :: TA 668/2020
b) The applicant, Sh. Devi Dutta, is a permanent resident of Village Badrore, Tehsil and District Jammu, and has been serving in the Geology and Mining Department. He was initially engaged as a Daily Wager on 21.03.1982 and, after rendering long and uninterrupted service, was regularized vide Order No. Adm/DGM/Reg/94/593 dated 16.02.1995 with retrospective effect from 01.04.1994. Subsequently, he was re- designated as Store Khalasi / Store Class-E employee, and continued to discharge his duties without any break.
c) The applicant claims that his family has been in cultivating possession of certain land situated at Village Badrore for several decades. His grandfather Dharmu was cultivating land owned by late Shri Hargobind Singh and, after his demise, by his successor Shri Sarbjeet Singh. Upon enforcement of the Agrarian Reforms Act, Mutation No. 446 was attested under Section 4 thereof, declaring the applicant and other co-sharers as prospective owners. However, the said mutation became subject matter of prolonged litigation at the instance of the private landowner.
HARSHIT YADAV HARSHIT C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E= YADAV [email protected], CN=HARSHIT YADAV I am the author of this document 2026.02.03 09:57:13+05'30' :: 4 :: TA 668/2020
d) During the pendency of such civil disputes, a complaint was lodged by Shri Sarbjeet Singh before the J&K Commission of Inquiries (State Subject Certificates) alleging that the State Subject Certificates (PRCs) issued in favour of the applicant's family members were fraudulently obtained. The Commission, by an ex-parte recommendation dated 13.08.2009, recommended cancellation of the PRCs issued in favour of the applicant's father and other family members.
e) Acting upon the said recommendation, the Revenue Department issued Government Order No. Rev/PRC/85 of 2010 dated 30.04.2010, cancelling the PRCs of the applicant and his family members. Aggrieved thereby, the applicant along with others challenged the said Government Order by filing OWP No. 86/2012 before the Hon'ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir.
f) The Hon'ble High Court, while entertaining the said writ petition, passed an interim order staying the operation of Government Order No. Rev/PRC/85 of 2010. The said stay order has neither been vacated nor modified and continues to HARSHIT YADAV HARSHIT C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E= YADAV [email protected], CN=HARSHIT YADAV I am the author of this document 2026.02.03 09:57:13+05'30' :: 5 :: TA 668/2020 operate as on date. The respondents were duly informed of the subsisting interim protection granted by the Hon'ble High Court.
g) Despite the continuance of the stay order, the respondents, without issuing any formal suspension, termination, or disciplinary order, withheld the salary of the applicant from the year 2010 onwards, even though he continued to attend office and perform his duties. Subsequently, the applicant was also orally restrained from marking his attendance, including through the biometric system, without any written order or authority.
h) The applicant asserts that withholding of salary without initiation or conclusion of any disciplinary proceedings amounts to an illegal and punitive action, violative of Articles 14, 16, and 21 of the Constitution of India. Being a Class-IV employee and nearing retirement, the applicant pleads extreme financial hardship and denial of livelihood.
i) Left with no alternative efficacious remedy, the applicant approached the Hon'ble High Court seeking directions for HARSHIT YADAV HARSHIT C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E= YADAV [email protected], CN=HARSHIT YADAV I am the author of this document 2026.02.03 09:57:13+05'30' :: 6 :: TA 668/2020 release of salary and restoration of attendance, which now stands transferred to this Tribunal for adjudication
4. The respondents have filed their reply statement wherein they have averred as follows: -
a) The respondents have raised a preliminary objection that the present Transfer Application does not disclose infringement of any enforceable legal, statutory, or fundamental right of the applicant and, therefore, is liable to be dismissed at the threshold.
b) It is contended that no cause of action has accrued in favour of the applicant, as his very appointment in the department is alleged to be based on a fraudulently obtained State Subject Certificate, rendering his engagement void ab initio.
c) The respondents further allege that the applicant has approached the Tribunal with unclean hands by suppressing material facts relating to the cancellation of his PRC, the criminal proceedings pending against him, and the findings of the Commission of Inquiries.
HARSHIT YADAV HARSHIT C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E= YADAV [email protected], CN=HARSHIT YADAV I am the author of this document 2026.02.03 09:57:13+05'30' :: 7 :: TA 668/2020
d) The respondents do not dispute that the applicant was initially engaged as a Daily Wager in 1982 and subsequently regularized in 1995, nor do they dispute his later re-designation as Store Khalasi. However, it is emphatically asserted that such appointment and regularization were founded upon the applicant's PRC, which has since been cancelled by the competent authority.
e) The respondents submit that, pursuant to complaints received in the years 2002 and 2005, the J&K Commission of Inquiries conducted an investigation and, after examining original records including the 1951 voter list, recorded categorical findings that the applicant's grandfather and family members were shown as "Gair-Riyasati Bashindas" (non-state subjects).
f) The Commission, by its recommendation dated 13.08.2009, declared the PRCs issued in favour of the applicant's family members to be fake and fictitious, recommended their cancellation, confiscation of properties allegedly acquired on HARSHIT YADAV HARSHIT C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E= YADAV [email protected], CN=HARSHIT YADAV I am the author of this document 2026.02.03 09:57:13+05'30' :: 8 :: TA 668/2020 the basis of such certificates, and initiation of criminal proceedings.
g) The said recommendations were examined by the Revenue Department and, finding them to be supported by record, were accepted vide Government Order No. Rev/PRC/85 of 2010 dated 30.04.2010, whereby the PRCs of the applicant and his family members were cancelled with immediate effect.
h) It is further stated that an FIR No. 25/2009 under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, and 120-B RPC was registered by the Crime Branch, Jammu, and a challan has been presented before the competent criminal court, which is presently pending adjudication.
i) The respondents submit that since the applicant has been declared a non-state subject, his appointment in government service is legally unsustainable, and he is not entitled to claim salary or any other service benefits. Mere pendency of a writ petition or grant of interim stay, according to the respondents, does not automatically revive a void appointment. HARSHIT YADAV HARSHIT C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E= YADAV [email protected], CN=HARSHIT YADAV I am the author of this document 2026.02.03 09:57:13+05'30' :: 9 :: TA 668/2020
j) It is also contended that the writ petition OWP No. 86/2012 challenging the cancellation of PRCs is still sub-judice before the Hon'ble High Court and, therefore, the present Transfer Application is premature and liable to be dismissed.
5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record.
6. The present Transfer Application has its genesis in SWP No. 2119/2019, originally filed before the Hon'ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir at Jammu and subsequently transferred to this Tribunal and registered as T.A. No. 668/2020.
7. The applicant seeks release of his withheld salary and restoration of attendance, contending that despite being a regular employee of the Geology and Mining Department and continuously discharging duties, his salary has been illegally withheld and he has been orally restrained from marking attendance, without any formal order of suspension, termination, or disciplinary proceedings.
8. Certain foundational facts are not in dispute and deserve to be noted at the outset:
HARSHIT YADAV HARSHIT C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E= YADAV [email protected], CN=HARSHIT YADAV I am the author of this document 2026.02.03 09:57:13+05'30' :: 10 :: TA 668/2020
(i) The applicant was initially engaged as a Daily Wager in the Geology & Mining Department in the year 1982 and was regularized in the year 1995 with retrospective effect.
(ii) He has continued in service for decades and was re-designated as Store Khalasi / Store Class-E employee.
(iii) No formal order placing the applicant under suspension, removing him from service, or terminating his employment has ever been passed by the respondents.
(iv) No departmental inquiry under the relevant service rules has been initiated or concluded against the applicant.
9. The sole reason cited by the respondents for withholding salary is the cancellation of the Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) of the applicant pursuant to Government Order No. Rev/PRC/85 of 2010 dated 30.04.2010 and the pendency of criminal proceedings and writ litigation arising therefrom.
10. It is an admitted position that the applicant, along with others, has challenged the aforesaid Government Order before the Hon'ble High Court by filing OWP No. 86/2012, wherein an interim order staying HARSHIT YADAV HARSHIT C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E= YADAV [email protected], CN=HARSHIT YADAV I am the author of this document 2026.02.03 09:57:13+05'30' :: 11 :: TA 668/2020 the operation of the cancellation order has been granted and continues to subsist as on date.
11. As long as the stay order remains operative, the legal consequences flowing from the cancellation of PRC remain in abeyance, and the applicant cannot be treated as finally disentitled to service merely on the basis of an order whose operation stands stayed by a competent constitutional court.
12. Importantly, the respondents have not demonstrated that any liberty was sought from the Hon'ble High Court to deny service benefits during the pendency of the writ petition, nor have they obtained any clarification permitting withholding of salary despite the subsisting stay.
13. Salary is not a bounty. It is a statutory and constitutional entitlement flowing from the relationship of employer and employee. Withholding of salary without suspension, termination, or disciplinary proceedings amounts to an impermissible punitive action, wholly alien to service jurisprudence.
14. The respondents' own pleadings do not deny that the applicant continued to report for duty for substantial periods and that no written HARSHIT YADAV HARSHIT C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E= YADAV [email protected], CN=HARSHIT YADAV I am the author of this document 2026.02.03 09:57:13+05'30' :: 12 :: TA 668/2020 order restraining him from work or attendance was ever issued. Oral directions, howsoever convenient administratively, have no sanctity in law.
15. Even assuming the respondents' contention regarding PRC to be ultimately correct, no authority in law permits extraction of work without payment of wages. Such action offends Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India and strikes at the very root of fairness in public employment.
16. The Tribunal is conscious of the pendency of criminal proceedings and PRC litigation; however, mere pendency cannot justify denial of salary for duties already discharged, particularly in the absence of any statutory action placing the employee under suspension.
17. At the same time, the Tribunal is equally mindful that the issue relating to the validity of the PRC and the criminal allegations arising therefrom are sub-judice before the competent forums.
18. Therefore, while the applicant cannot be denied salary for work performed during the subsistence of his service, it would be legally appropriate and equitable to protect the interests of the State by HARSHIT YADAV HARSHIT C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E= YADAV [email protected], CN=HARSHIT YADAV I am the author of this document 2026.02.03 09:57:13+05'30' :: 13 :: TA 668/2020 making the release of retirement and terminal benefits subject to the final outcome of the pending proceedings.
19. Such a course strikes a necessary balance between:
• the applicant's right to livelihood and dignity, and • the respondents' right to act in accordance with the final adjudication of PRC validity and criminal culpability, if any.
20. In view of the above discussion, this Tribunal holds that:
a) The action of the respondents in withholding the applicant's salary without any order of suspension, termination, or disciplinary inquiry is illegal, arbitrary, and unsustainable in law.
b) The applicant is entitled to salary for the period during which he has actually worked or was willing to work but was illegally restrained.
c) The respondents are not justified in denying attendance or salary merely on the basis of a stayed PRC cancellation order.
d) However, the release of retirement/terminal benefits shall remain subject to the final outcome of OWP No. 86/2012 and the criminal proceedings pending against the applicant.
HARSHIT YADAV HARSHIT C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E= YADAV [email protected], CN=HARSHIT YADAV I am the author of this document 2026.02.03 09:57:13+05'30' :: 14 :: TA 668/2020
21. Consequently, the Transfer Application is allowed with the following directions:
a) The respondents shall release the salary of the applicant for the period during which he has performed duties or was kept away from work without any lawful order, within a period of 12 weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
b) The respondents shall permit the applicant to mark his attendance and discharge duties in accordance with rules, so long as no lawful order to the contrary is passed.
c) The retirement and terminal benefits of the applicant, including pensionary benefits, shall be processed in accordance with rules, subject to the final outcome of:
• the writ petition challenging cancellation of PRC, and • the criminal proceedings arising out of the alleged fake PRC.
(d) It is clarified that in the event the PRC cancellation order ultimately attains finality against the applicant, the respondents shall be at liberty to take appropriate action strictly in accordance with law.
HARSHIT YADAV HARSHIT C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E= YADAV [email protected], CN=HARSHIT YADAV I am the author of this document 2026.02.03 09:57:13+05'30' :: 15 :: TA 668/2020
22. No order as to costs.
(RAM MOHAN JOHRI) (RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA)
Administrative Member Judicial Member
/harshit/
HARSHIT YADAV
HARSHIT
C=IN, O=Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu Bench, OU=Court master, PostalCode=180001, L=jammu, S=JAMMU AND KASHMIR, STREET="Wazarat Road, Opposite Chief Secretary Camp office Jammu Jandk", Phone= f43b1c5544466ac12d1b109be2e84ad03e43d7455ad4f908313774f070d1c28f, SERIALNUMBER= 317ab7a2f4cee67ef40cfd31d9f71e774ed64e83e889590de390c87f3d3efda8, E= YADAV [email protected], CN=HARSHIT YADAV I am the author of this document 2026.02.03 09:57:13+05'30'