MOHD YOUSUF MIR Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER , a Planning Assistant of Education Deptt, while posted in District Pulwama was placed under suspension in 1998, on his alleged complicity in mass fake appointment of teachers in the District alongwith other employees of the District. This scam of fake appointment of teachers is under investigation of Vigilance Organisation of the State with FIR Registered by Police Station VOK under No. 7/97. The petitioner as other employee was also taken into custody. He was released on bail on 28.10.1998 under order os Anti Corruption Judge of Kashmir. The petitioners grievance is that the VOK is pressing him hard for records which he is not possessed of as he has left the whole record in the office of Zonal Education Office, Pulwama, for which he has obtained receipt, Annexure -A. Despite his presentations the respondents are compelling and threatening him to provide record as otherwise he will be involved in the case in a manner that the entire claim of fake appointments will be on his shoulders. This they are doing at the behest of higher authorities of the Education department. Petitioner is being compelled to produce the record in order to save Kith and Kins of the respondents in the case. He prays for a Writ of prohibition to restrain the Vigilance Organisation from compelling him to produce the records before them and a Mandamus, for conducting investigations inaccordance with law and further to restrain the respondents from harassing the petitioner.

(2.) THE allegations of petitioner being pressed hard, threatened, and compelled to produce record before the Vigilance Organisation is not supported by any material, whatsoever, on record. It is just a bald allegation. There is as well nothing on record and in any case no document or material is placed on record to show that the investigating officer or officers from Vigilance Organisation Commission are trying to save the officers of higher education Department or that they have any kith and kin to spare in the scrutiny. All these incriminating allegations are bald and not supported by any material whatsoever. It is a condition of bail order that the petitioner shall cooperate and assist the investigating agency as and when required by such agency. Apart from this, the Vigilance Organisation under statutory powers is under duty to register and investigate the cases, to collect the material and information, to gather the evidence and to take other investigative steps in a case. Interrogating or requiring a named accused to produce the documents is not an act which falls beyond the powers of the investigative steps in a case. Interrogating or requiring a named accused to produce the documents is not an act which falls beyond the powers of the investigating agency. The question that the petitioner has left the record in office or Zonal Education Officer and obtained the receipt EXPA, is a matter to be brought to the notice of the Organisation/Investigating Agency to determine whether it covers the whole record or part of the record and in the latter case to trace and gather the untraced or unaccounted record.

(3.) IN the facts and circumstances appearing on record, the case is a scam of fake appointments of a large number of persons of District Pulwama. The case is under investigation. The writ appears to be an attempt to interfere with investigation and to restrain the respondent VOK from doing its statutory duty of investigating the crime. Harassment and allegedly compelling petitioner to produce record are not even prima facie surfacing from record.