Can Centre Extend CAT Jurisdiction Over J&K Universities? Kashmir University Scientist Challenges Notification Before High Court

A bench comprising Justices Sanjeev Kumar and Sanjay Parihar has issued notice to the Union of India. Mr. T.M. Shamsi, Deputy Solicitor General of India, waived notice on behalf of the Centre and sought three weeks' time to file objections.

The roots of the case lie in petitioner Dr. Muheet Ahmad Butt's abrupt dismissal from service on August 13, 2022, by an order issued under Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution, invoked by the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. At the time, Dr. Muheet was serving as Scientist D in the Department of Computer Science, having been appointed to the post by the University Syndicate in 2012. He had initially joined the University as a Contractual Lecturer and was later appointed as a Trainee Engineer in 2004.

Challenging his termination, Dr. Muheet approached the High Court through a writ where the Court had protected the post from being filled on a regular basis. However, following the issuance of Notification No. GSR 471(E) dated August 2, 2024, the matter was transferred to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), triggering the present petition seeking judicial review of the notification itself.

Through Notification, the Central Government brought ten universities in the Union Territory of J&K including the University of Kashmir, University of Jammu, and Sher-e-Kashmir Institutes within the jurisdiction of the CAT under Section 14(2) of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985. Dr. Muheet's petition challenges this notification only to the extent it includes the University of Kashmir.

Legal Grounds Raised:

Represented by Advocates Salih Pirzada, Sharaf Wani, Bhat Shafi, and Syed Ainain Qadri, the petitioner contends that the University of Kashmir is an autonomous statutory body, governed by the Kashmir and Jammu Universities Act, 1969, and is not subject to Central Government control. Its administrative independence, backed by statutory provisions, excludes it from the purview of Section 14(2) of the Administrative Tribunals Act.

It has been argued that Section 14(2) allows the Central Government to extend CAT jurisdiction only to institutions owned or controlled by it, not to those governed by State Governments or Union Territories with legislatures and Jammu and Kashmir, despite its Union Territory status post-2019 reorganization, has a legislature under Article 239-A, and hence retains autonomy over matters like public services and universities under Section 32 of the J&K Reorganization Act, 2019.

Submitting that Entry 32 of the State List under Article 246 of the Constitution vests exclusive power to legislate on universities with the State or UT legislature, it has been stated that the impugned notification, therefore, amounts to executive overreach and encroaches upon the legislative domain of the Union Territory.

The petitioner further argues that no other universities across the country save for those expressly listed under earlier valid notifications fall within CAT's jurisdiction, and inclusion of J&K universities alone is discriminatory and violative of Articles 14, 16, 19, and 21 of the Constitution.

Praying for the quashing of the impugned Notification to the extent it includes the University of Kashmir, the petitioner has also sought a writ of mandamus for recall of the earlier order transferring his service matter to CAT and allowing the High Court to continue hearing his case.

The matter will next be heard on June 30, 2025.

Case Title: Muheet Ahmad Butt Vs Union of India