Srinagar: A major controversy has erupted after the Jammu and Kashmir government filed an affidavit before the High Court seeking the dismissal of a petition challenging its controversial reservation policy.
The government termed the plea an “abuse of judicial process” and requested that it be dismissed at the preliminary stage with heavy costs.
In its affidavit submitted on April 4 before the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir & Ladakh, the Social Welfare Department, through its counsel, argued that the petition was filed without any cause of action and was driven by ulterior motives aimed at misleading the judiciary.
“The Petitioners have filed the present petition on completely false grounds in an attempt to deceive the Court. It is an important question of fact that how the petitioners have mandated themselves to invoke extraordinary writ jurisdiction that too in personal capacity and the fact that the impugned Statutory Order, issued by the U.T. of J&K has not diminished, intervened or altered at all, the percentage of Reservation to the already declared Tribes. As such, the instant writ petition on the face of it is an attempt to abuse the judicial process motivated by ill will, ulterior and oblique motives,” the government argued in the affidavit.
“The petition if allowed would set a wrong precedent, encouraging unscrupulous litigants, as in the instant case, dissipating the precious time and resources of the Court, by hoodwinking the Authority of the Court. Therefore, the writ petition deserves dismissal at the outset, on this ground without entertaining the merits of the case with imposition of heavy costs,” it added.
The government’s stand triggered sharp reactions from political leaders.
“ In an affidavit filed before the J & K High Court yesterday by J & K Government in the case of Zahoor Ahmed Bhat and others vs UT of J & K, pertaining to RESERVATIONS, J & K government has submitted that the petition is frivolous and and sought its outright dismissal. Nowhere has the government mentioned the formation of a sub committee on reservations. This is a legal mystery,” President Peoples Conference and MLA Handwara Sajad Lone said on X.
PDP leader and Pulwama MLA Waheed Parra also lashed out at the government, accusing it of protecting a flawed reservation policy.
“The so-called Cabinet Committee was nothing but a facade to mislead the public. Now, they’re seeking to dismiss the writ petition as baseless — another blatant attempt to sabotage the future of meritorious students in J&K,” Parra said.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Sakina Itoo, who heads the three-member panel constituted to re-examine the reservation policy, said that they have been holding the consultations and will be submit a report within the stipulated six months time.
“ Chief Minister is very serious on the issue and we have to update him on daily basis about the meeting that the committee holds with stakeholders,” she said.
Itoo said the affidavit filed in court is not the final word.
She also hit out at those politicians who always try to target government. .
At least three petitions have been filed in the High Court challenging the current structure of reservations in jobs and educational institutions.
Earlier this year, the Union Territory administration, led by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, implemented a 10% reservation for the Pahari community. This change increased the total reserved seats across various categories to 60%, leaving only 40% of seats available for general category candidates. This triggered unrest among aspirants from Open Merit who have been calling for a review of the new policy.
In response to the backlash, the Omar Abdullah-led government had constituted a three-member committee to revisit and review the new reservation framework.
UNI
