J&K HC stays its judgment on ’22 VDG scheme
SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir high court on Friday stayed a judgment, pending outcome of appeal, with regard to the new village defence guards (VDG) scheme announced last year by the Centre as a part of efforts to tackle terror activities in the UT.
The scheme came into effect on August 15 last year and replaced a 1995 scheme of the J&K government.
However, the new VDG scheme was challenged in the high court and petitions were filed, mostly by special police officers (SPOs) heading these groups whose honorarium was reduced from ₹18,000 to ₹4,500.
On April 6, a single-judge bench had quashed the 2022 scheme and directed authorities to treat SPOs as having been appointed under the village defence committee of 1995 with all powers and privileges of SPOs under the Police Act.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice Rahul Bharti stayed the single-judge bench’s verdict.
“Keeping in mind all the factors and circumstances and legal issues of seminal importance involved, in the context of a security sensitive part of the country and weighing the rival contentions, we are of the opinion that interest of justice would be better served if the impugned judgment and connected writ petitions, is stayed in terms of its operation during the pendency of this letters patent appeal,” the division bench said. Pronouncing a 27-page judgment after hearing senior additional advocate general Monika Kohli, who was appearing for the government, and a battery of lawyers representing the petitioners, the court listed the matter for June 7.
“In assessing the balance of convenience, we have also kept in mind that the issues raised in the appeal in the context of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, which is still not out of the woods in the context of its security issues and problems, have a direct bearing on the scheme of 2022 getting non starter and any uncertainty which may be caused in the implementation of the impugned judgment ought to be avoided,” the order read.