Srinagar: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has refused to quash an FIR against an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry accused of fraudulently obtaining a Reserved Backwards Area (RBA) certificate and using it to secure government employment.
Justice Sanjay Dhar, in a judgment dismissed a petition filed by Qulsum Akhter challenging FIR No. 9/2025 registered against her by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Crime Branch, Srinagar.
The FIR invokes Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), besides Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The case arose from a complaint alleging that Akhter had obtained an RBA certificate despite not meeting the prescribed residency requirement.
According to the investigation, she was residing in Srinagar before her marriage and married one Riyaz Ahmad Mir, a resident of Baki Akhar in Handwara, on July 7, 2011.
Nearly two years later, on June 27, 2013, she obtained an RBA certificate from the Tehsil Office, Handwara, claiming residence in the backward area.
The investigation found that under SRO 294 of 2005, a person seeking the benefit of backward-area residence was required to establish residence in the area for at least 15 years immediately preceding the application and actual residence there.
The court noted that the investigation indicated that the petitioner had lived in the area for only about two years when she applied for the certificate.
The certificate subsequently became the basis for her appointment as Assistant Professor in Biochemistry under the RBA category in 2019.
The court said the investigation had found that the certificate was issued through the alleged misuse of official position by Revenue officials.
Several officials, including the Patwari, Girdawar, Naib Tehsildar and Tehsildar concerned, were found by the investigating agency to have committed offences in connection with the issuance of the certificate.
The court also distinguished between the original certificate and its subsequent renewal. It observed that the original RBA certificate had been issued by the competent authority, although allegedly in violation of the applicable rules.
However, material collected during investigation indicated that the renewed certificate was forged, with the signatures of the concerned Tehsildar allegedly not being genuine, read the judgment.
The dispatch register was also allegedly tampered with, while the original files relating to the certificate and its renewal were found missing from the Tehsil office.
Rejecting the argument that the matter amounted merely to a violation of reservation rules, Justice Dhar said the material before the court prima facie indicated fraudulent procurement of the certificate in collusion with Revenue officials and its subsequent use for obtaining public employment.
The court also rejected the challenge to the jurisdiction of the EOW, holding that offences relating to documents fall within the agency’s notified jurisdiction.
Finding that cognizable offences were prima facie made out and that there was material in the case diary supporting the allegations, the court declined to exercise its inherent jurisdiction to quash the FIR.
“The petition lacks merit,” the court held, dismissing the petition.
