Jammu, Oct 21: Justice Sanjay Dhar in High Court in a contempt petition filed by Renu Mahajan against Achal Sethi, Secretary to the Government, Law Department, and another official has closed contempt proceedings against government officials over the implementation of a 2018 judgment concerning the seniority and promotions of a woman law officer, ruling that the authorities could not be held guilty of wilful disobedience when the judgment contained no specific direction on her claim for promotion as Additional Secretary from 2011.
The dispute arose from two writ petitions filed by Renu Mahajan, which were decided by a common judgment on January 30, 2018.
The court had set aside the seniority list issued through Government Order No. 2129-LD(Estt) of 2015, dated July 20, 2015, to the extent that it placed a private respondent above her in Category-D of Legal Assistants.
The authorities were directed to redraw the seniority list by placing Renu Mahajan at the first position and the private respondent at the second position. They were also directed to extend promotional benefits to both in accordance with the revised seniority, subject to fulfilment of other eligibility requirements.
In its latest compliance report, dated March 28, 2026, the government stated that Mahajan’s seniority had been revised and the dates of her promotions and regularisation at different levels had been adjusted accordingly.
According to the government, Rs 9,66,572 had been credited to Mahajan’s account towards salary arrears, while her revised pension had been fixed by the office of the Principal Accountant General through a letter dated November 20, 2025.
Renu Mahajan, however, contended that the government had addressed only the seniority dispute and had failed to give full effect to the reliefs sought in her other writ petition, particularly her claim for promotion to the post of Additional Secretary with effect from April 29, 2011.
She submitted that Fayaz Ahmad Sheikh had been promoted to the post on that date, although, according to her, the post was earmarked for members of the erstwhile Law Officer Service, which was amalgamated with the J&K Legal (Gazetted) Service with effect from August 26, 2010.
Renu Mahajan argued that the retrospective effect subsequently given to her promotions as Law Officer and Senior Law Officer made her eligible for consideration for promotion to Additional Secretary from the date her junior was promoted. She said she had instead been promoted to the post with effect from May 22, 2013, affecting her subsequent promotional claims to the posts of Special Secretary and Secretary as well.
Justice Dhar observed that the principal issue decided at the time was the relative seniority of Mahajan and the private respondent in the Legal Assistant category.
The court reiterated that contempt proceedings require wilful failure to comply with a court order. Where judicial directions admit of more than one plausible interpretation and an authority adopts a reasonable interpretation, such conduct cannot automatically be treated as wilful disobedience.
As the respondents had complied with the directions concerning seniority and retrospective promotional benefits, the High Court closed the contempt proceedings in CCP(S) No. 629/2019arising out of SWP No. 1042/2014.
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