Srinagar: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday expressed strong displeasure over the fake appointment of a Workshop Assistant by the office bearers of the SK University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST).

The court held that the law is settled that an appointment secured or offered by taking recourse to illegal means is void ab-initio and not countenanced by law.

The court while hearing the case of one Mehraj-u-din Najar who had applied for the post of Workshop Assistant advertised by the SKUAST in 2008, made a submission that the University in favour of one Miss Gousia appointed her on fake documents. He stated that the said candidate “never applied for the post in question”.

The court while perusing the enquiry report in the matter noted that the relevant records provided by the university Registrar indicate that the application of Miss Qazi Gousia was ordered by the Registrar himself to be included in the list of applicants, and the observation of the complainant was rightly founded.

It was further revealed from the perusal of the list of eligible applicants prepared by the Registrar that the name of Qazi Gousia did not figure therein.

“It was quite obvious that her inclusion in the list was due to direct intervention of the Registrar, Chairman of the Selection Committee. More so, there is no record of any particulars of her application in the list of ninety-four candidates provided by the Registrar to the Enquiry Committee,” the court noted.

The Committee had also failed to find any trace of the bank draft or such document from Miss Qazi Gousia in the records, whereas those of others were properly enlisted, the court noted

“The irregularity is obvious. The case indicates direct involvement of the Registrar in facilitating inclusion and selection of the candidate (Miss Qazi Gousia Jeelani) with consequent adverse effect on the application of the complainant,” the court recorded.

Justice Javed Iqbal recorded that the position that emerges from the above manifestly demonstrates that Miss Gousia secured the appointment against the post in question in league and connivance with official respondents in general and respondent No. 2 (Registrar) in particular, by employing illegal means and in the process having deprived the petitioner of his selection and appointment against the post in question being next in order of merit.

The court noted that the case reflects a glaring and brazen example of abuse of power by those at the helm of affairs in the University at that relevant point of time.

Justice Iqbal pointed out that much water has flowed since then, but this court expresses strong displeasure against the state of affairs as noticed above in the respondent university.

“Instead of recommending a punitive action against all concerned involved in the matter, a word of caution alone is being extended to the University/its officers in this regard that law and law alone should be followed and adhered to while running the affairs of the University,” the court said.

Allowing the plea of Mehraj-u-din Najar, the court quashed the appointment of Miss Qazi Gousia in terms of selection and order dated 19 April, 2010 and directed the University to offer the petitioner appointment against the post of Workshop Assistant in view of his merit and extend him all consequential benefits thereof to which he becomes entitled thereto.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 upon the University to be payable to the petitioner within two weeks from the date of passing of this order, “having regard to the manifest injustice suffered by the petitioner in the matter at the hands of the respondent University.”

NUSRAT SIDIQ