Kashmir Impulse Desk

Srinagar, May 30

International water sports official Bilquis Mir has moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) alleging contempt by the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Department for failing to release her salary for more than two-and-a-half years despite a tribunal order directing payment.

The contempt petition, filed before the CAT against the Commissioner Secretary of the J&K Youth Services and Sports Department and the department’s Director General, states that officials failed to comply with the tribunal’s February 5 order directing release of her pending salary.

Mir, India’s only female judge in kayaking and canoeing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has not received her salary since November 2023, according to the petition.

The dispute began after the Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Branch registered a case against her in November 2023 under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code, alleging illegal gratification and criminal conspiracy.

In July last year, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court quashed the FIR, strongly criticising the authorities and observing that officials appeared intent on harassing accomplished sportspersons.

In its February 5 ruling, the CAT directed the sports department to release Mir’s “legitimately earned salary” from November 2023 onward within 15 days.

According to the contempt plea, that deadline has expired without compliance.

Mir said the continued withholding of salary had caused severe financial hardship and professional distress despite her having continued to render services.

The petition alleges the failure to comply with the tribunal’s order was deliberate and wilful, and amounted to undermining the authority of the judicial institution.

The order was passed in the presence of counsel representing the respondents, meaning the department had full knowledge of the tribunal’s directions, the petition states.

Mir’s legal effort to secure her dues dates back to late 2025, when she first approached the High Court seeking release of her salary. The case was later transferred to the CAT’s Srinagar bench.

Mir has had a 28-year career in kayaking and canoeing and is among India’s most recognised figures in water sports.

She represented India at the 2009 Canoeing and Kayaking World Cup in Hungary and became the first Indian woman appointed as a judge at the Asian Games. She also served as national coach for the women’s kayaking and canoeing team for the 2012 London Olympics.

She holds an international coaching diploma from Semmelweis University in Budapest and has coached Indian teams at multiple international competitions, including the Under-23 Canoe Slalom World Championship in Italy and the Asian Canoe Slalom Championship in Japan.

Mir has described her appointment as a judge for the Paris Olympics as the high point of her career.

Earlier this year, she was appointed chief coach of India’s kayaking and canoeing team for the Asian Games in Japan, but her release by the Jammu and Kashmir administration was delayed, prompting the Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Association to approach the High Court seeking urgent intervention.

While quashing the FIR last year, the High Court described Mir’s achievements as a matter of pride for the country and criticised what it called a “witch-hunt” against her by vested interests.

The court said it was “alarmed” by the manner in which the Anti-Corruption Branch pursued the case, adding that criminalising technical aspects of her qualifications reflected poorly on how the country treated its sporting achievers.