GH HASSAN MARAZI Vs. STATE OF J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER Ghulam Hassan Marazi is the General Manager in the Jammu & Kashmir State Forest Corporation. Vide Government Order No. 1077 -GAD of 2007 dated 11.9.2007, the Government directed his transfer and attachment with General Administration Department till further orders. The order has been issued in the interest of smooth functioning of the State Forest Corporation and with the prior approval of the Chief Minister/Minister incharge Forests, Ecology and Environment and Ex -officio Chairman, J&K State Forest Corporation (the SFC). Petitioner felt aggrieved of the same and through a writ petition (SWP NO. 1813/07) filed on 19.12.2007 he has challenged the order of his attachment on various grounds.

(2.) WHILE the petition was pending by Order No. 381 -FST of 2007 dated 19.12.2007, the petitioner has been placed under suspension with immediate effect by the Managing Director, J&K State Forest Corporation. The petitioner has challenged the order of suspension through a separate writ petition (SWP NO. 1848/07).

(3.) VARIOUS grounds have been taken by the petitioner to assail the order of suspension passed against him. Petitioners main grievance is that the attachment as well as the suspension of the petitioner has been ordered by the Chief Minister of the State for personal reasons. He states that when he was posted as General Manager in the State Forest Corporation he received a representation from one Mustaffa Azad, Contractor (brother of the present Chief Minister) marked by the Managing Director of the Corporation. The applicant had asked to get the trees of Compartment No. 27 & 28 Chiralla marked for extraction through Forest Department and allot the same to him. The petitioner alleges that on receiving the said representation he rejected it out rightly on the ground that no Contractor can ask the management to mark the trees and allot same to him; secondly a lot of work is pending execution with the said Contractor and he is not completing the said work, instead of completing the work he has asked for relaxation of working period. The petitioner states that in the same way one Sajad Azad, Contractor (another brother of the Chief Minister) made a representation which too was marked to the petitioner. In the representation the Contractor had asked the management to get the trees in Compt.12,17,18&19/ Padder Kishtwar and Compt. 58,59, 65/Neeru marked and take further action for allotment of the same but the petitioner rejected this representation too. Both the representations were moved on 17.3.2007. The petitioner alleges that the brothers of the Chief Minister got annoyed with the petitioner, in the meantime the management of the Corporation kept a huge quantity of about 30 lakh Cfts timber available in Jammu Division and put the same to tender in April & May 2007 but the contractors of Jammu Division boycott the said tendering process. The petitioner alleges that the main contractors of the Jammu Division are three brothers of the Chief Minister who represent the association of the contractors, so the leading contractors did not allow the petty class contractors to participate in the tendering process and get the work allotted in their favour. Various other allegations have also been made in the detailed petition filed by the petitioner.