High Court of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh ordered status quo on a matter related to the cessation of NMPH workers of Drug de-addiction center Srinagar.
The court ordered that the present position of the workers in the Psychiatric Disease Hospital, Srinagar engaged under the NMHP Scheme shall not be disturbed till the next date of hearing.
A court order reads, “The petitioners contend that they have been engaged as Data Entry Operators and Multi-Purpose Workers in the Psychiatric Disease Hospital, Srinagar, under the Scheme of NMHP and have been discharging their duties for the past several years.”
“It is submitted that as per the terms of engagement, the petitioners are entitled to continue till the operation of the scheme which is coming to an end only in the year 2026. Therefore, the services of the petitioners cannot be disengaged,” it reads.
It further reads, “Issue notice to the respondents subject to the taking of necessary steps by the petitioners for effecting service upon the respondents within a week’s time.” The matter has been listed on 09.10.2023.
“In the meanwhile, subject to the objections from the other side and till next date of hearing before the Bench, the present position of the petitioners shall not be disturbed,” reads the conclusion of an order.
Pertinently, as per an official document, the cessation of services of 28 NMPH workers was discussed in a meeting held a few days before.
“A meeting was held on 25 August 2023 at 11:00 am under the Chairmanship of Head of Department Psychiatry (Prof. Dr. Mohammad Maqbool Dar) in the Office chambers of the Head of Department to discuss the fall out of cessation of services w.e.f 01-09-2023 of 28 personnel engaged under NMHP and contingency measures to be taken thereof,” an official document reads.