Jammu and Kashmir Govt extends tenure of 16 ad hoc District Judges by 6 months

The Jammu and Kashmir government has extended the tenure of 16 District Judges, who were appointed on ad hoc basis, by six months with effect from July 15, 2021..In this regard, an order was issued by the Secretary to Government, department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary affairs Anchal Sethi on Tuesday..“As recommended by the High Court, sanction, in terms of Rule 20 of the Jammu and Kashmir Higher Judicial Service Rules, 2009, is accorded to the extension in ad hoc appointment of 16 District Judges, who were appointed on January 15, 202 for another period of six months with effect from July 15, 2021,” the order said. .The judges who have been granted extension are Abdul Nasir, Surinder Singh, Javid Ahmed Gilani, Ajay Kumar Gupta, Sudhir Kumar Khajuria, Om Parkash Thakur, Gowhar Majid Dalal, Javed Alam, Mehraj Ud Din Sofi, Surjeet Singh Bali, Om Prakash Bhagat, Manjeet Singh Manhas, Naushad Ahmed Khan, Som Lal, Mohammad Ashraf Bhat and Pradeep Kumar..“The ad-hoc appointment of the District Judges shall be for a period of six months or till the regular selection or appointment is made, whichever is earlier. It shall not confer any right to claim seniority or any other superior right to the appointeesvis¬a-vis the District Judges who may be appointed pursuant to a regular selection process,” the order further clarified..It also added that the ad hoc appointees would be reverted to the cadre of Sub-Judges or Civil Judges (Senior division) in case they are not found fit for promotion to the posts of District Judges after regular selection process or in case sufficient posts are not available for their promotion on regular basis.