Public Interest Litigation can challenge appointments violating statutory regulations, but courts must consider factual impossibilities regarding qualification requirements.

ORDER :

Leave Granted.

2. These appeals question the correctness of a judgment and order dated 11th July 2014 passed in OWP (PIL) No.861 of 2010 and the order dated 30th March 2018 in RPIL No.43 of 2014 as well as the order dated 30th March, 2018 in RPPIL No.43/2014, by the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir at Srinagar, whereby appointments as Assistant Professors, granted to the appellants herein, namely, Dr. Sheikh Javeed Ahmad & Dr. Abdul Hamid Rather, were set aside as being incompatible with the rules and regulations, and the reviews sought thereagainst being dismissed as well.

At the outset, we note an order of this Court passed on 3rd November 2023-

“When the matters are called on for hearing, learned counsel for the petitioners submitted before us that out of the three petitioners of the Public Interest Litigation (‘PIL’) out of which the present proceeding arises, two are not traceable and one of the three persons in whose names that action has been brought has filed an affidavit before the High Court stating therein that he had not filed the said petition.

The State shall file a report as regards whereabouts of the three petitioners who had brought the PIL. The State shall also apprise this Court about the position of vacancy in the Sher-I- Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar…”

(Emphasis supplied)

On 12th December 2023, it was informed that the Director General, Crime Investigation Department¹[Hereafter, CID] was inquiring into the identities of the PIL petitioners. Vide affidavit dated 12th February 2024 filed by the Secretary to the Government of Jammu Kashmir, enclosed the report of the CID, which is extracted below for reference :

i. The petitioner namely Mohd Syed Shah S/O Mohd Sadiq Shah figuring at S.No.01 in the ibid reference found to be resident of Konan, Bandipora. He is approximately 70 years of age. He was running a medical shop at Chuntimullah, Bandipora, currently his two sons are running a medical shop in main market Bandipora. The purported petitioner Mohammad Syed Shah has denied to have filed the PIL before the Hon’ble Court. Reportedly 02 years back, he had given an undertaking to SKIMS authorities wherein he denied filing of any such PIL before the Hon’ble Court. The contact number of Mohammad Syed Shah is 9596325628.

ii. The petitioner namely Mohammad Ishaq Khanday S/O Abdul Khaliq Khanday R/O Batpora, Sopore figuring at S.No.02 in the ibid reference is currently residing at Hamza Colony Bemina Srinagar since 1986 and retired as Research Assistant from Agriculture Department in 2020. His phone number is 7889505126. He admitted the filing of the PIL.

iii. The whereabouts in respect of the petitioner namely Mohammad Amin Sheikh S/O Ghulam Ahmad Sheikh R/O Bohari, Sopore figuring at S.No.3 in the above quoted reference could not be traced out due to incomplete address.

3. The field report further revealed that the petition was reportedly filed by one Dr. Ali Mohammad Buhroo S/O Ghulam Mohammad Buhroo R/O Gundiqasier, Bandipora, the then HOD Physics SKIMS Srinagar (Now retired) 10years ago before the Hon’ble High Court of J & K on behalf of the petitioners including Mohammad Syed Shah with whom the purported petitioner Mohammad Syed Shah was working as an attendant.”

(Emphasis supplied)

We may here itself record our surprise that the High Court, after being in receipt of such an affidavit of the alleged petitioner, did not take steps to look into its order and the propriety thereof. Be that as it may, we now proceed to the facts and merits of the matters before us.

3. Shorn of unnecessary details, the factual backdrop of these appeals is as under :

3.1 The