Srinagar: The Additional District Judge, here on Monday, directed the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Crime Branch, to conduct an enquiry as to whether the husbands of four women partners in SKIE, a coaching institute in the city outskirts, have indulged in any of its profit-earning activities despite being government employees.
The presiding officer of the court, Farooq Ahmad Bhat, ordered the inquiry in the case of the partners of the SKIE, with allegations and counter-allegations of malafide, unethical, and illegal activities.
The petitioner, Mufti Hamid Maqbool, prayed that his partners in the business venture, including Tahira Gul, Nusrat Rivaz, Saifu Nissa and Arsheeda Begum be restrained “from operating or promoting any institution under the deceptively similar names S-KIE, Saddam KIE Private Ltd, Saddam KIE, SKIE NEXT GENERATION CLASSES – (Sadam KIE Private Limited), or any other variant similar to SKIE, as well as from using the goodwill, logo, or assets of M/s SKIE Classes.”
Also seeking non-interference with the petitioner’s lawful management and proprietary share, the petition had been filed under section 9 of J&K Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
The petitioner alleged that the ladies had brought in their spouses into the SKIE, who earned money out of it despite being government employees.
After hearing the parties and perusing the material on record, Judge Farooq Ahmad Bhat directed the SSP, Crime Branch “to conduct an enquiry as to whether the spouses of the respondents have indulged in any private profit-earning activities in the said institute from 20-07-2022, despite being on the government pay-roll.”
The order further read that “he (SSP Crime) shall be free to summon any record or video footage from any quarter concerned with the operation of the institute and take appropriate action as per the provisions of law governing the subject. The enquiry report shall be submitted to this court within two months from the date of passing of this order”.
“The allegations propagated by the petitioner about the involvement of some of the spouses of the respondents in the partnership business, despite being on the payrolls of the government, is a serious concern,” the court said.
It held that an independent inquiry is warranted by an appropriate government agency to ascertain whether the government exchequer is being burdened by such officials who, while being on the government payroll, are at the same time indulging themselves in private profit-earning business.
It held that balance of convenience, in the peculiar circumstances of the case, tilts in favour of the petitioner as he has raised valid issues qua the registration of the logo “SKIE Classes” under the provisions of the requisite statute.
The court recorded “I fail to understand why the respondents were impelled to change the SKIE Classes brand into S-KIE (Sadam KIE Pvt. Ltd.). If the respondents claim that they were instrumental in branding SKIE Classes, then why was the name on the logo changed?”
It appreciated the argument of the counsel to the extent that “SKIE” is a Latin word meaning “sky” and is not an abbreviation of any sort, and that the petitioner was instrumental in emerging as the winner when a dispute landed before a forum regarding the brand identity of “SKIE” and “KIE” (Kashmir Institute of Excellence).
It said “the new logo floated by the respondent ladies under the name S-KIE (Sadam KIE Pvt. Ltd.) is a substantial area of dispute that deserves to be taken up during the arbitration proceedings.”
The court rejected the arguments of the ladies’ council of the petitioners invoking section 9 of the Arbitration Act citing provisions of the Act and the findings rendered by the apex court of the country on the subject.
It said “the petitioner has been able to ask for intervention of this court in terms of section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996”.
It also restrained the respondent ladies “from preventing the petitioner from acting as the Managing Partner of the firm which came into existence by virtue of the partnership deed executed on 20-07-2022, failing which appropriate proceedings shall follow.”
It ordered restraining the respondents “from rebranding the logo SKIE classes as S-KIE (Sadam-KIE Pvt Ltd) forthwith, failing which appropriate proceedings shall follow.”
