Jammu and Kashmir High Court: While reviewing the measures taken by the J&K State Legal Services Authority and paralegal volunteers in collecting information regarding the status of petitioners in whose favour the Court had passed orders of maintenance, the Division Bench of Gita Mittal, CJ., and Vinod Chatterji Koul, J., directed the Union Territory Government to examine the possibility of providing assistance to such petitioners in order to enable their survival and sustenance. The Court also clarified that payment of any amount by the Government is only a temporary measure and, the same shall not create any rights in favour of the petitioners.
On perusing the list of petitioners in whose favour, maintenance orders were passed, the Court observed that either due to Covid-19 restrictions or loss of employment because of the pandemic, the respondents were unable to comply with the maintenance order. The Court also noted that the Union Territory Government already has been furnished with the list containing complete details of the petitioners.
The Court further directed that a copy of the list should also be provided to Aseem Sawhney, AAG who shall ensure that the matter is immediately addressed in right earnest. The Court also directed the JKSLSA to file a report regarding all those petitions where maintenance has been sought under any law, within one week. [Court on its Motion v. Union Territory of J&K and Ladakh, 2020 SCC OnLine J&K 290 , decided on 16-06-2020]
