Mehbooba Mufti Urges Review Of ‘Unjust’ Govt Employee Dismissals

Since August 2019, when the special status of Jammu & Kashmir was revoked, more than 60 central government employees have been dropped under Article 311(2)(c) of the Indian Constitution, which allows the government to dismiss employees without an inquiry in cases where the government feels it is necessary for the security of the state. The firings were done in a hap-hazard manner and on flimsy grounds without carrying out a proper probe, so employees and their families are quite stressed about this. 

The leader of the People‘s Democratic Party, or PDP, Mehbooba Mufti, has written a letter to the Chief Minister of J&K, Omar Abdullah, requesting him to review the terminations. Mufti further expressed concern over the arbitrary manner of some of the dismissals, asserting that these have taken place under circumstances of inadequate due process. She specifically discussed the case of Nazir Ahmad Wani, a revenue official who was dismissed and acquitted because he had languished in prison under UAPA. Wani succumbed to the complications on October 2024. His family is however, beset by bureaucratic delays in securing his pension and other entitlements.

Effects on Families and Demand for Humanitarian Relief

Mufti has further dealt with the different disastrous consequences of these sackings on the families of workers, with many people  being worse off than at the starting point, in a way that makes them lose some elementary rights. She took the example of Wani‘s family, who are suffering not just an emotional loss but also the sort of delay in getting their finances in place. In her letter to Abdullah, Mufti has requested the administration to take a humanitarian approach towards such families by making immediate assistance available to the already devastated families by such unjust terminations.

Proposal for Review Committee

Mufti proposed that a review committee should be instituted to review every case of the dismissed reviews of each employees. The committee would undertake comprehensive and impartial case, thus enabling individuals or families who had been misrepresented an opportunity to voice their side of the case. In addition, she proposed policy reforms to not allow the injustice to occur again in the future.  She emphasized that the review process has to be followed by a comprehensive inquiry and legal scrutiny before another round of dismissals.

Response by the Defense and Opposition on the Government

The J&K government contended that the dismissals had been done in the interest of the state’s security. In 2021, a special task force was formed to investigate employees who were reportedly involved in activities considered “anti-national” or those activities which posed a threat to the state security. Several employees, which also included separatist activists who were said to be linked with terrorism, were asserted to have been dismissed on the grounds that they were participants in the act of terrorism. While talking in an interview in 2023, the J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha stated that the administration would continue to act against people who were related to terrorism, and the procedure would not take a halt until such elements would be taken out from such an influential position.

National Conference Response against Unjust Dismissal

The new government formed by the NC in Jammu & Kashmir assures to address the problem of unjust terminations. NC leaders have assured reviewing cases of arbitrary dismissals and even corrective action if required. The party assured that all employees will be treated fairly and assured job security in the state, particularly before elections.

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