The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has clarified that submitting a certificate from an unrecognised body during a recruitment process cannot be considered fraud or misrepresentation. The Court said such a certificate may be invalid for determining merit but cannot disqualify a candidate on the grounds of dishonesty.
The petitioner had applied for the post of Physical Education Teacher (P.E.T.) under an official advertisement. He scored 41.29 points, while the last selected candidate had only 28.61 points. His name appeared at Serial No. 23 in the provisional merit list.
However, his name was later removed on the basis that he submitted a fake National Sports Certificate. The matter was taken to the Central Administrative Tribunal, which dismissed his case without examining the evidence properly.
A bench comprising Justice Rajnesh Oswal and Justice Mohd Yousuf Wani observed:
"The certificate submitted by the petitioner, although invalid for the recruitment process, was neither fake nor forged. At most, the authority could have excluded it during document scrutiny."
The High Court referred to a Crime Branch report dated 03.07.2013, which confirmed that the certificate was genuine but issued by an unrecognised organisation. Hence, the court concluded it was not a case of cheating or forgery.
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The bench further noted that the petitioner’s name was not mentioned in any FIR, unlike other candidates who had submitted forged documents and were booked under criminal charges. This confirmed that the petitioner had not committed any fraud.
"Had the certificate been fake or forged, then it would have been a case of fraud or misrepresentation. But there is no such act here,” the court added.
The petitioner also argued that even if the sports certificate is excluded, his remaining merit points are still higher than the cutoff.
The Court held that the Tribunal's order lacked proper analysis and had ignored crucial facts. It therefore quashed both the tribunal’s and the recruiting authority’s orders and directed them to reassess the petitioner’s merit, excluding the invalid certificate.
“This reassessment must be completed within three months from the receipt of the certified copy of this order,” the Court directed.
In conclusion, the High Court emphasized the importance of distinguishing between invalid documentation and actual fraud, ensuring fairness in recruitment processes.
APPEARANCE
Mohammad Yawar Hussain, Advocate For Petitioner
Faheem Nisar Shah, GA with Ms. Maha Majeed For Respondents
Case-Title:Mohammad Shafiq Dar vs Union Territory of J&K & Ors, 2025
