Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): In a significant, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh at Srinagar, has granted interim relief to a petitioner in a case concerning the extraction of timber along the Narbal to Baramulla National Highway, while overruling objections by the Army.
The petitioner, Raja Shabir Ahmad, was granted interim relief in the case under WP (C) No. 482/2024, with CM No. 1289/2024 by the court of Justice Rajesh Sekhri.
Represented by Mohammad Amin, Advocate, the petitioner outlined his contention following a notification issued by the respondents for e-auctioning timber extraction contracts. He applied for the work and was evaluated as H1 by the Auction Committee. Meeting all prerequisites, including document submission and bid amount deposition, the petitioner commenced timber extraction work along the designated highway.
However, the petitioner faced a significant obstacle in the form of objections from Army authorities stationed in areas where the extraction work was underway. The petitioner said that despite his repeated representations to the respondents urging intervention to resolve the matter with the Army, no substantial response was received, exacerbating the petitioner's predicament.
Convinced of the prima facie validity of the petitioner's claims, Justice Rajesh Sekhri ordered interim indulgence in favor of the petitioner. The respondents were served notice, returnable within a period of four weeks, and directed to promptly consider the representations filed by the petitioner. Additionally, requisites for the case are to be filed within a week’s time, with the next hearing scheduled for the 29th of April, 2024.
