J-K CAT bench to hear service matters of employees of central govt, J-K and Ladakh: Centre

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."