New Delhi: Almost 20 years on, a judge from Jammu and Kashmir will have to prove the basis of his selection in the judicial services.
A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Bandipora district to verify the authenticity of the backward area certificate of the judicial officer, and report back to the court after two months. This certifcate had formed the basis of selection of the judge in question.
Mohammed Yousaf Allai, who was selected in the judicial services pursuant to the job advertisement in 1998, has been asked by the top court to satisfy the authorities that his certificate was not forged and that he was entitled to the reservation benefit.
Allai had obtained the benefit of a RBA certificate, under which any person residing in a scheduled backward area for 15 years could claim the benefit of being a resident of that backward area.
“Why are you running away from inquiry? If your claim is genuine, there is nothing you should worry. You shouldn’t even worry about who is going to inquire. Let anybody inquire and you will come out clean if your certificate is genuine,” the bench recently told advocate MC Dhingra, who appeared for Allai.
Replying, Dhingra said that almost 20 years have gone by and that there could be some practical difficulties in fetching some original records now. The lawyer also referred to the recent floods in the Valley while making a point why adducing some original records could be an issue for his client.
But the bench remained firm. “Don’t give all these reasons. Undergo the inquiry and raise all your contentions there. We are making sure that you are heard before the final order on the authenticity of your certificate is pronounced,” it told Dhingra.
Allai’s judicial work was withdrawn by an order of the J&K High Court in 2008, which also placed the matter before the full court to take a call on administrative side.
The HC had noted that this “litigation concerns an extremely sensitive area, including high status of public at large; i.e. the character and integrity of a judicial officer alleged to have manipulated the category certificate for securing induction into judicial service.”
In its order, the HC had further noted that Allai’s three other important document relating to his educational qualification showed him a resident of a different region but the judicial officer has so far questioned the manner of conducting inquiry instead of helping it reach a logical end as soon as possible.
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