Srinagar, Oct 04: The Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) has declared the appointment of a teacher as fraudulent and null and void ab initio after an inquiry found that the appointment and subsequent promotion orders cited in his service records had never been issued by the competent authority, according to a report published by Greater Kashmir.
In an order dated September 3, 2026, the DSEK declared the entry of Imtiyaz Ahmad into the School Education Department as “non-est in the eyes of law” and ordered recovery of all benefits drawn on the basis of the alleged appointment.
Ahmad was posted as a teacher at Boys Middle School Gagribal in Zone Nishat.
As per the order, Ahmad remained unauthorisedly absent from duty from February 21, 2024, after the winter vacation for the 2023-24 academic session. The Zonal Education Officer, Nishat, issued him a show-cause notice on May 31, 2024, directing him to resume duties within seven days.
“No response was received from him,” following which the Chief Education Officer, Srinagar, reported the matter to the Directorate, the order stated.
During scrutiny of his service records, the department allegedly found that Ahmad had purportedly been appointed as a Laboratory Assistant in 2013 and subsequently promoted as a Teacher in 2018. However, verification of official records revealed that no such appointment, endorsement or promotion order had been issued by the competent authority.
The DSEK thereafter ordered a detailed inquiry into the alleged appointment as well as his prolonged unauthorised absence.
“The inquiry report was submitted in April 2026,” the order reads.
Following the inquiry, the department issued a final notice to Ahmad in June, directing him to appear personally and produce his testimonials, original appointment order and promotion order 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 that he had to discontinue in 2023.
The Education Department, relying on judgments of the J&K High Court and the Supreme Court concerning fraudulent appointments, held that an appointment based on forged or non-existent documents is “non-est in the eyes of law.”
The order also cited the 2022 judgment of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh in Mehmooda vs State of J&K & Others, observing that an inquiry was not required into an appointment that was fraudulent and non-est in law.
“The fraudulent entry managed into the School Education Department by Imtiyaz Ahmad being non-est in the eyes of law, is hereby declared null and void, ab-initio,” the order stated.
The department further directed recovery of all benefits drawn on the basis of the alleged fraudulent entry.
The DSEK has also asked the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, to recover the fraudulently drawn amount from Ahmad’s property as arrears under the J&K Land Revenue Act.
A copy of the order has been forwarded to the Economic Offences Wing, Kashmir (Srinagar), as well as the Chief Education Officer, Srinagar, for information and necessary action.
