Srinagar, October 28, KDC: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that an adverse Criminal Investigation Department (CID) report citing the militant history of a candidate’s relatives cannot bar him from contesting Lambardar (village headman) elections.
Justice Rajnesh Oswal passed the directive while hearing a writ petition filed by Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Village Sangam in Srinagar district. Bhat had challenged a December 2024 administrative order that bypassed his candidature and temporarily appointed a rival candidate to the post of Lambardar following an adverse security clearance.
The CID, in its official response submitted to the High Court, admitted that there was no criminal record against Bhat himself. However, the intelligence agency red-flagged his extended family. The CID report said that one of his maternal uncles, Mohd. Maqbool Bhat, was a Local Trained Terrorist (LTT) during 1990 who was apprehended by security forces in 1992 and allegedly continues to espouse “pro-secessionist and anti-national ideology.”
The agency further informed the court that another maternal uncle of the petitioner, Abdul Majeed Bhat, was booked in a 1998 FIR under the Arms Act at Police Station Soura. Based on these connections, the CID concluded that the petitioner belonged to a family with affiliations to anti-national elements, prompting the revenue authorities to reject his candidature.
Taking strong exception to the rationale of denying a public post based on guilt by association, Justice Oswal observed that an intelligence report citing the antecedents of uncles cannot be used to disqualify a candidate with a clean personal record.
“A perusal of the reply filed by CID reveals that no illegal activity has been attributed to the petitioner and rather on the basis of antecedents of his uncles, the petitioner has been alleged to be belonging to the family of persons having affiliation with anti-national/secessionist elements,” the High Court observed.
“In the opinion of this court, this report can’t be basis for rejecting the candidature of the petitioner,” the High Court said, subsequently quashing the December 24, 2024, government order that had temporarily appointed Mohammad Ashraf Yatoo to the post. The court directed the revenue authorities to hold fresh elections for the post of Lambardar of Village Sangam within a strict timeframe of three months.
Paving the way for the petitioner’s smooth participation, Justice Oswal explicitly ordered that the “adverse report as submitted by the CID shall not come in the way of the petitioner for participating in the election process for the post of Lamberdar for Village Sangam.” (KDC)
