HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AND LADAKH

AT JAMMU

CRMC No. 208/2016

c/w

CRMC No. 204/2016

1. Manzoor Hussain

2. Subash Chander Sharma

.....Appellant/Petitioner(s)

Through :- Mr. S. H. Rather, Advocate

in CRMC No. 208/2016

Mr. Dhiraj Choudhary, Advocate in

CRMC No. 204/2016

v/s

1. State of J&K and others

2. State of J&K and another

.....Respondent(s)

Through :- Mr. Jamrodh Singh, GA

CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJNESH OSWAL, JUDGE

JUDGMENT

1.

The petitioners in these petitions have impugned the same FIR

bearing No. 78/2005 dated 11.11.2005 registered with Police Station,

Mandi, District Poonch for commission of offences under sections

467, 468, 420, 471 and 120-B RPC as such, both the petitions are

taken up together.

2.

The petitioner-Manzoor Hussain in CRMC No. 208/2016 was

working in the Education Department and superannuated in the year,

2004. In the year, 2000 when the petitioner was posted as Incharge

ZEO, Mandi, the Government launched a scheme commonly known

as Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) scheme. The aim and object of the said

scheme was to provide education by engaging community member

2 CRMC No. 208/2016 &

CRMC No. 204/2016

called as ReT. The ReT was to be selected and engaged by a duly

constituted Village Education Committee (VEC) comprising of

prominent citizens of the locality headed by the ZEO. The ReT was

to be engaged only after the VEC scrutinized the credentials of the

applicant & made recommendations to the Deputy Commissioner.

After approval accorded by the Deputy Commissioner, the formal

engagement order was to be issued by the ZEO. As far as the

Village, Sawjian is concerned, that falls in Zone Mandi, a panel of

eligible candidates was prepared by the VEC where after the names

of the meritorious candidates fully eligible in all respects were

recommended before the Deputy Commissioner Poonch, who was

Chairman of the selection committee at the relevant point of time and

after the approval by the Deputy Commissioner Poonch, the

petitioner who was ZEO Mandi in the year, 2000 issued formal order

in favour of the candidates so approved by the Deputy Commissioner

Poonch.

3.

That in the year, 2005, one Riaz Ahmed initiated criminal

proceedings against the engagement of one Farooq Ahmed who was

engaged as ReT in the year, 2000 that resulted in registration of FIR

bearing No. 78/2005 in Police Station, Mandhi (for short the FIR

impugned) for commission of offences under sections 420, 467, 468,

471 and 120-B RPC against the persons excluding the petitioner.

4.

It is further submitted that for the last more than 10 years, the

petitioner was never served with any notice or summon by the

Investigating Agency in the aforesaid FIR and neither he was aware

of the status of any such investigation. It was only a few days back

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CRMC No. 204/2016

when the police officials of Police Station, Mandi started visiting the

residence of petitioner and extended threats of involving the

petitioner in the aforesaid FIR and the petitioner came to know that

the aforesaid FIR was initially closed by the Police as not proved and

final report was submitted before the Chief Judicial Magistrate,

Poonch. That once the final report was submitted before the

competent court then the petitioner was not aware on whose

directions, fresh process was started in the same FIR. It is further

submitted that the Reyaz Ahmed who was the candidate in the wait

list, even filed a writ petition against the selection of Farooq Ahmed,

that was dismissed by this Court and LPA was also dismissed. The

FIR has been impugned on the following grounds:

(a)

That the name of the petitioner does not figure in the FIR.

(b)

That the cause of action alleged to have been accrued in the

year, 2000 and the FIR impugned came to be r