SPO disengaged over ‘fake’ records, Jammu and Kashmir High Court orders reinstatement

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has overturned the removal of a special police officer (SPO) accused of providing false documents to hide his age, ruling that he was dismissed without proper notice or investigation. In the SPO's legal challenge, Justice M A Chowdhary stated that the action contravened natural justice principles and ordered his reinstatement, including related benefits.

The court emphasized that the respondents failed to provide the petitioner with a fair opportunity to defend himself against the serious accusations, which could only be resolved through proper hearing. The SPO had been employed in the department since 2004 and claimed to have been excluded from a conversion process to constable on compassionate grounds in 2007.

Despite recommendations from the competent authority, he was not considered for the conversion. The petitioner and five other SPOs filed a complaint in the high court in 2011, which directed the authorities to consider their appointment and absorption as constable drivers, an order upheld in 2013. However, in 2022, he and nine other SPOs were absorbed as constables upon facing contempt proceedings.

It later came to light that his date of birth was incorrectly recorded as March 4, 1981, instead of January 1, 1973. He had informed the police authorities about the error, but the correction was never made. In December 2023, the senior superintendent of police (security), Kashmir, issued an order disengaging him from service, citing the use of fake documents to conceal his age and stating that he was over the age limit.

The SPO contested the disengagement in the high court, arguing that the authorities had dismissed him without providing a show-cause notice or conducting an inquiry. The court noted that the respondents had removed the petitioner without issuing a prior notice or conducting an inquiry, thus violating the basic legal requirement that no individual should be condemned unheard.