SRINAGAR: The Division Bench of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, consisting of Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Mohan Lal, recently upheld the termination of Judicial Officer Mohammad Yousuf Allie. The termination was due to his fraudulent acquisition of an RBA (Reserved Backward Area) certificate.
During the hearing, the Division Bench noted that the RBA certificate in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir is equivalent to a caste certificate in other regions. This means that individuals with an RBA certificate are eligible for reservation benefits. However, the court found that the petitioner, Mohammad Yousuf Allie, had obtained the RBA certificate fraudulently.
The court referred to a report dated January 30, 2018 from the Deputy Commissioner, which clearly exposed the fraudulent nature of the RBA certificate acquired by the petitioner. Furthermore, the petitioner had not challenged this report before any judicial forum. Additionally, a subsequent report dated July 07, 2018, which could have been relevant, was already declared invalid by the Court.
Given these circumstances, the Division Bench concluded that the petitioner’s entry into service itself was through fraudulent means. Consequently, the termination of the petitioner and the absence of a departmental enquiry were deemed not in violation of Article 311 of the Constitution. The court pointed out that the Supreme Court had previously held the same.
Based on these observations, the Division Bench dismissed the petition filed by Mohammad Yousuf Allie, upholding his termination from the judicial service due to the fraudulent procurement of the RBA certificate.
