Srinagar, Mar 25 : J&K and Ladakh High Court on Friday ordered that no officer shall leave the station without obtaining the prior permission of the Competent Authority and warned that any failure or departure from it shall be viewed “seriously”.

“The Rules governing the service conditions and the Circulars No. 3, 10, 106 issued on 11.05.1998, 05.02.1999 and 09.08.2002 respectively provide that no Judicial Officer shall leave the station without obtaining prior permission of the Competent Authority,” reads a circular issued by Registrar General Sanjeev Gupta.

“Circular No. 36 dated 03.06.2009 provides that Presiding Officers of Magisterial Courts shall not leave the station without seeking and receiving proper permission from the Principal District & Sessions Judge, under whose jurisdiction they are working.”

The Officers of the District Judge cadre are equally obliged to seek permission from the High Court before leaving the station, the circular reads further.

“In this regard, repeated reminders have been issued by the High Court in the shape of Circulars No. 29 & 26 dated 03.03.2016 and 10.12.2020 respectively but even then it has been noticed by the Chief Justice that the Judicial Officers including Principal District Judges leave their station without seeking prior permission from the Competent Authority,” the circular reads.

The Chief Justice has directed strict compliance of the circulars, and had ordered that no officer shall leave the station without obtaining the prior permission of the Competent Authority, it reads.

“Any failure or departure from it or the non-compliance of the circulars shall be viewed seriously “so as to entail departmental inquiry on the ground of misconduct”, it adds. gns