Kashmiri Migrant Contractors’ Decades-Old Dues Claim Rejected: Delhi HC Upholds Dismissal Over Missing Records | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: The Delhi High Court has dismissed an intra-court appeal filed by a group of Kashmiri migrant contractors seeking payment of alleged dues for works executed before 1989, holding that the claims could not be verified due to the absence of records and the passage of time.

A Division Bench comprising Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, in its judgment delivered on April 20, upheld the earlier order of a Single Judge dismissing the contractors’ writ petition.

The appellants, led by JL Wali, had claimed that they were registered contractors with the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir government and had undertaken construction works for the Public Works Department (PWD), the Department of Gardens, Parks and Floriculture, and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD). They submitted that payments for completed works remained pending when they migrated from Kashmir to Delhi in 1989 due to the prevailing law and order situation.

According to court records, the contractors approached the court in 2001 seeking directions for the release of pending payments. Earlier, in 2002, the High Court had directed the Jammu and Kashmir government to consider their representations. However, the authorities responded that most payments had already been made and sought further details of the works.

Subsequent communications from the PWD indicated that verification of claims was not feasible, as the works dated back over two decades and many officials associated with the projects had either retired or died. The government also cited the unavailability of complete records.

The Single Judge, whose order was challenged in the present appeal, had ruled that the claims could not be adjudicated under Article 226 of the Constitution, noting that the court could not examine measurement books or determine the extent of work executed.

In the appeal, counsel for the contractors argued that partial payments—reported to be around Rs 50,000—had been made, and therefore the remaining dues should also be cleared. However, the Division Bench held that such payments did not establish the availability of complete records or validate the entire claim.

The court observed that while the migration of the appellants from Kashmir was a consequence of an adverse security situation, the claims pertained to works allegedly executed nearly 37 years ago. It noted that, with the passage of time, the absence of records was a plausible explanation and did not indicate mala fide intent on the part of the authorities.

Concluding that there was no ground to interfere with the earlier ruling, the Bench dismissed the appeal, stating that the case lacked merit.