SANT KUMAR SHARMA Jammu, Dec 10 |15: Of late, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court seems to have gone in the over-drive, ordering one illegality to be ended, other to be punished, and so on. The departments of the government seem only to work, and respond, only when the heat from the court becomes too much to bear. The officials seem to act, do their duty as mandated by law, as described in their charter of responsibilities, only on court orders. When one Bench, or the other, virtually is on the verge of taking some drasticaction against those in charge. The officials seal some mall, or a big building, because it has been constructed illegally. Or there are too many irregularities in it. Everyone, while constructing the big buildings, in every town, or city, seems to have forgotten one thing. Constructing abasement parking lot/s. What about the officials who were in charge of passing maps for the construction of these buildings. They, or their successors now, are almost apologetic while taking against illegal constructions. They point out to harsh court orders in the matter. As if, if it was not for court orders, they would have allowed the sleeping dogs (illegal constructions) to lie. Untouched, as they were. Not doing anything against them. After all, it was the fellow officers who had allowed illegalities. These officials were committing similar things elsewhere? A couple of years ago, the court had decided to go after illegal constructions in three major cities, Jammu, Srinagar and Katra. The officials then acted swiftly, sealing some buildings, stopping work on some others, and so on. The then coalition government of the National Conference (NC) and the Congress had intervened. Please don’t be naïve to think that it patted the officials on their backs, and rewarded them. It came to the rescue of those who had committed the illegalities, practically coming in the way of court action! By saying that it will find away, or policy, to regularize some illegalities, and take action against others. It could not come up with either solution, and folded up. Lost the elections, and those in the Opposition came to power. It is interesting that the new coalition government, comprising the PDP and the BJP, is about to come to the rescue of those who had committed illegalities. By framing a new law to help these people, and give them another lease of life. A decade ago, the same court started hearing a case against errant taxi drivers. The case was a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). It was a Double Bench, headed by then Acting Chief Justice B A Khan, which heard the case. There were a lot of apprehensions expressed about the case, and its final result/s. Nobody remembers what happens as nothing much happened. The same is perhaps what we are witnessing now. A lot of apprehensions being expressed, and nothing much happening on the ground. Perhaps, this is what we call the government is aprocess in continuum. More things change, more they remain the same. Who wins, ultimately? Usually the one committing the illegalities!
