High Court stays Asif Hamid Khan’s attachment to GAD

Removed as MD Agro, Khan alleges that IAS officer took Cabinet for a ride

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

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SRINAGAR, Aug 26: Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday stayed the operation of a Government order whereby Managing Director of Jammu and Kashmir Agro Industries Development Corporation (AIDC) Asif Hamid Khan had been removed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s Cabinet on August 21 and attached to General Administration Department (GAD).

The Cabinet on Friday last had sanctioned transfer of 46 senior officers, mostly from Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) and Indian Administrative Service (IAS), following which GAD had ordered Mr Khan’s attachment and his immediate replacement by Director Finance in AIDC Rakesh Khajuria. Mr Khajuria had been directed to continue on the substantive post of Director Finance while holding the additional charge of MD in the same Corporation.

Even as Khanjuria, according to the petitioner, was made to take over the charge of MD AIDC late in the light on August 21 itself and well before the Government Order No: 1139-GAD of 2015, dated 21-08-2015, was published on the GAD website, Khan challenged his removal while attributing motives to the Government Order. After hearing the parties involved, including the counsel of Khajuria who has been impleaded as a respondent, Mr Justice Mohammad Yaooq Mir of J&K High Court on Wednesday stayed the operation of the impugned order.

In his petition, Khan has claimed that his removal as MD AIDC was not in the interest of the administration but only the result of an IAS officer’s prejudice against him.  According to him, he had applied for a day’s leave but Commissioner-Secretary Agriculture Production Mohammad Ashraf Bukhari forwarded his application to Chief Secretary with the remarks that Mr Khan had applied for the casual leave only to avoid his participation in a meeting fixed for August 19. He claimed that absolutely no official meeting had been fixed on that date.

According to the petitioner, Mr Bukhari recorded on his leave application: “Mr. Asif has been avoiding attending meetings as has been apprised earlier. I had fixed a review meeting for today (August 19) and he has repeated the same behaviour by applying for casual leave. The other day I paid a surprise inspection of his office. He alongwith most of the staff was absent. I could request for his immediate shifting if the Agro has to survive”.

Khan pleaded that Bukhari, through Chief Secretary Iqbal Khanday, pushed the proposal of his attachment within hours in the Cabinet meeting of August 19. However, on that day, Cabinet did not take up the agenda of administrative reshuffle.

On August 21, the IAS officers took the Cabinet for a ride and got him replaced by a tainted official of their choice who was made to assume charge of MD Agro late that night when the Government Order was yet to be posted on GAD’s website. Referring to minutes of a host of meetings, Khan pleaded that he has never remained absent from an official meeting.

“Transfer is exigency of service. Nobody can claim posting of his/her choice. Every officer/official has a right to protect his position, more so when any stigmatic situation arises which may have far-reaching effect in future. Normally orders of transfer are uninterferable but in exceptional cases indulgence is warranted”, Mr Justice Mir observed.

“Mr Rakesh Khajuria, impleaded respondent No: 4, has been simply asked to look after the work of Managing Director J&K Agro Industries Development Corporation in addition to his own duties till further orders. None of his rights may be infringed if the operation of the order dated 21-08-2015 is stayed. When the order prima facie does not appear to be in the interest of administration then the interference is the only alternative, therefore, at this stage on the strength of the documents as placed on record, strong case is carved out for indulgence, as such operation of the impugned order dated 21-08-2015 to the extent it pertains to the petitioner shall remain stayed”, Justice Mir ordered.

September 22 was fixed as the next date of hearing.

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