Jodhpur: Rajasthan High Court Wednesday sought a detailed report on how many hearings were held in Jodhpur in the last six months by the Rajasthan Civil Services Appellate Tribunal. The court has directed the state govt and the tribunal to submit this report at the next hearing on Sept 16.The direction came following a petition by the Rajasthan High Court Advocates Association, stating that despite a notification, a permanent bench of Rajasthan Civil Services Appellate Tribunal had not yet been set up in Jodhpur.On July 19, 2022, a division bench had directed the state govt to establish a permanent bench of the tribunal in Jodhpur after noting that 2,655 cases related to districts under jurisdiction of Jodhpur High Court and 4,364 cases related to Jaipur were pending. Despite this, the tribunal was holding sittings in Jodhpur only three days a month (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday).The court considered this to be contrary to the concept of ‘Justice at Your Doorstep’ and directed the state govt to establish a permanent bench in Jodhpur with immediate effect. It further directed to ensure that the circuit bench held hearings in Jodhpur for eight days each month until the constitution of the permanent bench.In compliance with this direction, the state govt issued a notification on May 4, 2023, and defined the jurisdiction of the Jodhpur Bench through an order on Sept 12, 2023, bringing Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bikaner, Pali, and Banswara divisions under its jurisdiction with instructions that all new and pending appeals be heard before it.The petitioner association submitted that with this, appointments of non-judicial members and staff were also made, but in practice, the tribunal has not been functioning. Instead, the circuit bench continues to operate as before, leaving the core issue unresolved.Hearing these arguments, the division bench of Justice PS Bhati and Justice Sandeep Taneja stated that in the absence of benches of tribunals, the justice system becomes metropolitan-centric, compelling the common man to spend more money, take more time, and travel long distances to obtain justice. Terming this to be contrary to people’s fundamental right to justice, the court has sought a detailed report of the hearings held in the past six months.
HC seeks report on hearings held by Raj civil services tribunal | Jaipur News
