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PIL filed in SC against Durbar Move practice
Kashmir Times. Dated: 2/26/2013 12:00:15 AM
JAMMU, Feb 25: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court of India seeking ban on 140-year old practice of Durbar Move, shifting of the government machinery and the Chief Justice office from Srinagar province to Jammu province and vice versa after every 5 ½ months in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The PIL, under WP No.82 of 2013, has been filed by Prof Abdul Gani Bhat of Natipora, Srinagar. It is scheduled to come up for hearing before the Supreme Court on March 4, 2013.
The PIL also seeks stopping the lately introduced practice of shuttling of the judges from Srinagar Wing of the High Court to Jammu Wing after ever three weeks and other practice prevalent in the High Court.
Notably, earlier this year in January, the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had also advocated reversal of "Durbar Move" so that the government could stay with people when they were facing hardships due to extreme weather.
“Stop this escapism of running away at most problematic times -- stay in Srinagar during winter and Jammu in the summer to address problems,” Omar had tweeted.
A reverse “Durbar move” would mean that the capital stays in Jammu in summers and in Srinagar during winters.
He had also said that “since the Durbar move could be done away with, perhaps the time had come to seriously consider reversing the move.”
In May last year, Omar had termed the bi-annual shifting of state capital as a “necessary evil.”
“It is my personal opinion and not that of the government. There should be reverse Durbar move so that the government is with the people when they are facing hardships,” Omar had told the reporters at the reopening of government offices in Srinagar last May.
Earlier, Omar had tweeted that Durbar move was an inevitable practice as no viable alternative to it had come forth so far.
“Do I think the 'Durbar move' (shifting of capital) is a waste of money? Yes I do. Is there an alternative? I haven't seen a viable alternative suggested,” Omar had tweeted in April 2012.
The Durbar Move was introduced by Dogra rulers more than a century ago and since then the seat of government shifts between Jammu and Srinagar every six months.
The practice was started by Maharaja Ranbir Singh in 1872 to escape the extreme weather conditions of Jammu during summer and of Kashmir valley during winter.