The Central Administrative Tribunal's Jammu and Kashmir bench will hear service-related matters of employees of the central government and union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, the Personnel Ministry said on Friday.
The ministry, in an order dated April 29, had said the CAT's Chandigarh bench will have jurisdiction of the benches in states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab and union territories of Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Reports in a section of media later said, "Government of India shifts all service matters of employees of J&K and Ladakh UTs to Chandigarh CAT", the ministry stated in an official statement on Friday.
It is clarified that neither the petitioner nor the lawyer needs to go to Chandigarh for filing a petition or appearing before the tribunal, it said.
The term Chandigarh circuit is being misinterpreted to mean that the petitioner or lawyer would have to go to Chandigarh. It is not so, it added.
The statement said, "All service matters of Central Government and UT employees of J&K and Ladakh will be heard and disposed of in the CAT bench in J&K itself."
It is reiterated that earlier also the CAT bench used to hold its sittings in Jammu and Kashmir to dispose of service matters related to central government employees, it said.
The only difference now is that it will also be disposing of matters related to employees of the union territory and therefore will have more frequent sittings in Jammu and Kashmir, it added.
According to the ministry, the registration of cases can also be done either online or at the CAT's secretariat office which will be set up locally after the union territory government provides an appropriate facility.
"Disposal of cases through CAT in UT of J&K will ensure fair and objective delivery of justice," the statement said.
However, due to the ongoing lockdown, the working of the benches of the CAT will remain suspended till Sunday.
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