||Black and White Digital News ||

||Tejveer Singh July 31, 2024 ||

Ganderbal: Fayaz Ahmad Qureshi, a sub-judge in the Ganderbal district court, has accused Deputy Commissioner Shyambir of launching a retaliatory inquiry into land owned by him. This move allegedly came in response to an earlier court order directing the withholding of the Deputy Commissioner’s salary for non-compliance.

Background and Allegations:

The issue originated from a land acquisition case where petitioners claimed they were not compensated by the government despite a 2022 decree. In January, Sub-Judge Qureshi ordered the Deputy Commissioner to compensate the petitioners. By June 21, after noting non-compliance, the judge directed the withholding of the salaries of the DC and other officials.

In a recent order dated July 23, Qureshi claimed that the Deputy Commissioner responded by attempting to undermine him through “manipulation and fabrication.” He alleged that Shyambir conspired with other officials to implicate him falsely. According to Qureshi, one of the tactics involved scrutinizing land he owned in Ganderbal. The judge detailed that Shyambir directed a patwari to investigate his land three times, aiming to frame him in a fabricated incident. Qureshi stated that this was a direct retaliation for his lawful order against the Deputy Commissioner and other officials.

Detailed Allegations:

In the latest order, issued on July 23, sub-judge Qureshi said that his previous order “didn’t go well with Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal, namely Mr. Shyambir, who attempted to personally attack the Presiding Officer (the sub-judge) by scandalising him and weakening him by manipulation and fabrication, and for this purpose, he called a meeting immediately after the order and conspired with some other officers/officials of the district to implicate the Presiding Officer of the court for passing a lawful order against the judgment-debtors”.

The judge accused Shyambir of launching a vindictive investigation to “implicate” him in a false case. “Out of the steps decided to be taken by the contemnor Deputy Commissioner against the Presiding Officer, one step was to frame the Presiding Officer in any fabricated incident, and if this is not possible, to trace out if there is any property in the name of the judge anywhere,” the July 23 order said. The judge said the DC found out that he had two kanals of land in Ganderbal, and that the DC “misused his official machinery and devoted time in tracing out the documents of the property, which the Presiding Officer lawfully holds”. After this, “as a first attack” on the judge, Qureshi said a patwari visited his land thrice under the DC’s direction. He said the patwari told the caretaker of the land that the DC had constituted “a team for demarcation of the land of the judge” as the judge had “passed the order against the Deputy Commissioner and other higher officers”.

Legal and Administrative Actions:

Qureshi has initiated a preliminary inquiry for criminal contempt against Shyambir, asking him to explain why he should not be referred to the High Court for contempt proceedings. He also placed the matter before J&K Chief Secretary Atul Dulloo, recommending administrative action against the Deputy Commissioner and his transfer. In his order, the judge asked the Chief Secretary to initiate administrative action against the Deputy Commissioner and transfer him. The order also said that as the Deputy Commissioner may “try to implicate the judge in some false and frivolous”, the DC has been issued a notice to explain why he should not be referred to the High Court for criminal contempt.

The allegations of judicial interference and retaliation by the Deputy Commissioner have raised significant concerns. The outcome of the preliminary inquiry and the Chief Secretary’s response will be closely watched, as it may set a precedent for handling similar disputes between judicial officers and administrative authorities in Jammu and Kashmir. The case highlights the delicate balance between judicial independence and administrative authority, and the importance of upholding the rule of law in all circumstances.