Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Nov 08
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has directed the Jammu and Kashmir government not to fill a constable’s post for which a candidate was selected but denied appointment after authorities cited his brother’s involvement in a criminal trial.
A division bench comprising Judicial Member M S Latif and Administrative Member Prasant Kumar issued the interim direction while hearing a plea filed by Mudasir Bashir Sheer Gojri, who challenged the withholding of his appointment in the Home Department.
The tribunal said fundamental rights formed the bedrock of the rule of law and could not be compromised without lawful justification.
Referring to Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables and Lord Denning’s book Due Process of Law, the bench observed that the modern approach should focus on reform rather than permanently branding individuals on account of criminal proceedings.
Gojri had applied under the Other Backward Classes category for the post of constable following a recruitment notification issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board on July 16, 2024.
He appeared in the written examination, Physical Standard Test and Physical Endurance Test and was included in the final selection list published on February 20, 2026.
His candidature was subsequently recommended to the Home Department for appointment.
An adjustment order issued on March 21, 2026, by the office of the Additional Director General of Police, Armed Police Headquarters, assigned him to the 18th Battalion of the Indian Reserve Battalion.
However, while other candidates selected under the same order received formal appointment letters, Gojri’s appointment was withheld.
He was allegedly informed orally by departmental officials that his brother was facing trial in a criminal case and that security clearance had consequently not been granted.
Gojri, through his counsel Ishtiyaq Ahmad Mir, approached the tribunal, challenging the decision.
He argued that the authorities’ action had deprived him of appointment without any written order or reason and that every administrative decision affecting an individual’s rights must be supported by law.
The tribunal observed that the competent authority could take action if there were cogent reasons to deny the candidate appointment, but such a decision had to be based on law and could not rest on flimsy grounds.
The bench issued notice to the government, seeking its objections to the petition by February 25 next year.
Pending further proceedings, the tribunal directed that the post against which Gojri had been selected should not be advertised or filled through any mode.
