ALTAF AHMAD CHOPAN vs SHEEP HUSBANDRY on 16 October 2026

O R D E R

M.S.LATIF, M (J) oral 01/ Through the medium of this petition, the petitioner has, inter alia, sought the following relief : “The Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the respondents to release the legitimate wages of the petitioners without any further delay with further direction to ensure the continuation of the petitioners in the department as Need Based Employees and ensure their deployment. The petitioners have also sought a direction, as an interim measure, that pending final adjudication of this petition, the Hon'ble court may be pleased to direct the respondents to release the withheld wages of the petitioners forthwith and consider their representations regarding their continuation in the department on need basis.” 02/ What can be gathered from a cursory look into the pleadings made in this petition is that this petition has been filed by the petitioners, who hail from different districts and who have been engaged in the respondent department in different Sheep Breeding

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Farms on need basis with monthly remuneration of Rs. 3000/- on need basis and are discharging their duties to the entire satisfaction of their higher authorities. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioners, being sole bread earners of their respective families, have no other source of income to nourish their families and are wholly and solely dependent upon the services which they are rendering in the respondent department. He submits that the respondents have enrolled the petitioners on Aadhaar Based Bio-Matric Identification and Skill Profiling, 03/ Learned counsel submits that the candidates who were working in the respondent department as Need Based Employees including the petitioners have approached the respondent department for continuation of their services on need basis by way of representations and the respondents, after receiving the representations, have considered and submitted the report to the higher authorities that the respondent department is facing acute dearth of Class-IV staff due to retirements and promotions and, if the Government deems it fit to continue/re-engage these workers, their services can be utilized for different operations of the department. 04/ Grievance of the petitioners herein is that the respondents have allowed similarly circumstanced employees to continue in the respondents department, who are discharging their duties but they (petitioners) have been excluded from consideration and they are seeking their continuation on the same analogy as has been applied in respect of similarly situated persons. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the respondent department has issued a

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circular for implementation of government notified rates in respect of all the Casual/Consolidated/CPW's etc. in the respondent department and as per this circular the petitioners bio-metric attendance system, as categorized by the Government/respondent department, had been enforced when the petitioners have been working in the respondent department, prior to the issuance of Govt. Order No. 43 of 2015 dated: 17-03-2015 and they were even being paid the wages/salaries from time to time, but suddenly the respondents, from last five months, have withheld the wages/salaries of the petitioners, as such, petitioners are seeking a direction to the respondents to release the unpaid wages in their favour. Learned counsel submits that the petitioners have worked in the respondent department on need basis from last more than 10 years and the respondents, without any reason, have stopped their wages/salaries. He further submits that the petitioners are under apprehension that the respondents will not allow them to continue their service and, as such, a direction deserves to be issued to the respondents for continuation of the services of the petitioners’ and release of withheld legitimate wages in their favour forthwith. 05/ It is further submitted that due to non-redressal of grievances of the petitioners, the respondents are violating their Constitutional and Statutory rights as the respective families of the petitioners are at the verge of starvation and are constrained to seek a direction to the respondents from this Hon’ble Court to release the withheld wages in their favour forthwith. Learned counsel submits that the petitioners are discharging their duties in the respondent department to the entire satisfaction of higher authorities and are continuing to do so department but the respondents have

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withheld the wages of the petitioners without any reason, though they are continuing their service in the respondent department till date. He further submits that in an identical matter bearing O.A. No. 277/2026, titled Nazir Ahmad Wani & Others versus Union Territory of J&K & Others, this Hon'ble Tribunal was pleased to pass an order dated 10.07.2026 in favour of the petitioners therein and the petitioners herein are similarly situated and circumstanced with the petitioners in the aforesaid O.A, as such, they too are entitled to the same treatment in accordance with law. 06/ Be that as it may, after arguing the matter for a considerable period of time, learned counsel for the petitioners’ fairly submitted that the petitioners’ would be satisfied if the respondents are directed to treat this petition as comprehensive representation of the petitioners’ and decide the same as expeditiously as possible in accordance with law. 07/ Learned counsel appearing for the respondents submits that he has no objection if the present O.A is disposed of with appropriate directions, without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the respondents. 08/ Heard learned counsel for the parties at length, perused the material available on record. 09/ Having regard to the limited and innocuous prayer made by learned counsel for the petitioners and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the present O.A is disposed of with a direction to the respondents to treat this petition together with all documents and annexures appended thereto as well as the representations, filed by the petitioners earlier, as a comprehensive

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representation and consider and decide the averments put forth therein by passing a reasoned and speaking order in accordance with the applicable statutory provisions, rules and governing legal framework, of course, subject to the petitioners’ eligibility and entitlement under law and provided there is no legal impediment in doing so. Needful to be done within a period of six weeks from the date a certified copy of this order and copy of this O.A is served upon the respondents. 10/ In the backdrop of what has been discussed above, this O.A 1150/2026 is disposed of along with connected M.As, if any. (M. S. LATIF) Member (Judl.) TARIQ MOTA CONSULTANT (PS) 16-10-2025

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