SRINAGAR: The Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) has declared the purported appointment of Imtiyaz Ahmad, a Rawalpora resident, in the School Education Department “null and void ab-initio” after an inquiry found that the appointment, endorsement and promotion orders cited in his service records had not been issued by the competent authority.
According to Order No. 347-DSEK of 2026 dated September 3, Ahmad had been working as a Teacher at Boys Middle School Gagribal in Zone Nishat before he allegedly remained unauthorisedly absent from February 21, 2024.
The records showed that Ahmad had purportedly been appointed as a Laboratory Assistant through Government Order No. 395-GAD of 2013 dated April 2, 2013, with an endorsement attributed to the Directorate of School Education Kashmir dated April 3, 2013. He was subsequently shown as having been promoted as a Teacher through Order No. 1004-DSEK of 2018 dated July 30, 2018.
However, verification of departmental records found no record of the appointment, endorsement or promotion orders having been issued by the competent authority, the Directorate said.
The matter came to light after Ahmad failed to report for duty following the winter vacation of the 2023-24 academic session. The Zonal Education Officer, Nishat, issued him a show-cause notice on May 31, 2024, asking him to resume duties within seven days, but no response was received, according to the order.
The Chief Education Officer, Srinagar, subsequently reported the matter to the Directorate on October 15, 2024. The Directorate then initiated an inquiry and, through Order No. 65-DSEK of 2026 dated February 16, 2026, appointed the Chief Education Officer, Srinagar, as Enquiry Officer.
The inquiry report was submitted to the Directorate on April 25, 2026. Following its examination, the Directorate issued a final notice to Ahmad on June 19, asking him to appear personally within 15 days and produce his testimonials and the original appointment and promotion orders purportedly issued in his favour.
In his response, Ahmad stated that he had been “misled and trapped” in a fraudulent and irregular process by certain individuals and said he had discontinued in 2023, according to the order.
After examining the inquiry report and available records, the Directorate concluded that his entry into the School Education Department was fraudulent and “non-est in the eyes of law”.
The order cited judgments of the Supreme Court and the High Court of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh, including the December 2, 2022 judgment in CSA No. 13/2004, Mehmooda vs State of J&K & Others, in support of the decision that a regular departmental inquiry is not required where an appointment itself is found to be fraudulent and legally non-existent.
The Directorate has accordingly annulled Ahmad’s purported entry into the department and ordered recovery of all benefits drawn by him on the basis of the alleged appointment.
The case dates back to 2013, while the purported promotion was shown as having taken place in 2018. The matter came under formal scrutiny after his unauthorised absence was reported in 2024.
The order does not assign responsibility for the alleged fraudulent entry to any particular officer or government, and records the findings concerning Ahmad’s purported appointment, promotion and subsequent service status.
