950 cases against J&K service selection panel in HC, SC

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In the past three financial years, the board has spent more than ₹26 lakh as legal expenses.

RAMAN SHARMA, Jammu-based RTI activist

JAMMU: Concieved with the exclusive purpose of providing equitable opportunities of employment to the educated youth of the state, the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) has ironically embroiled itself more in legal battles than concentrating on developing a fair mechanism of recruitment.

Information received via an application under Right to Information Act revealed that there are over 950 cases pending in Srinagar and Jammu bench of Jammu and Kashmir high court and Supreme Court involving JKSSB.

The 950 cases include 12 special leave petitions filed by the Board itself before higher courts.

Furnishing information to the Jammu-based RTI activist Raman Sharma, JKSSB informed that till date, there are 938 cases pending against the Board in Srinagar and Jammu bench of the HC and two cases are pending against the recruitment panel in the Supreme Court .

“These legal suits are not only wasting the precious time of the recruitment panel but also devouring a lot of money. During the last three financial years, the Board has spent more than ₹26 lakh as legal expenses to fight cases in various courts. This includes ₹19.6 lakh paid as lawyer fees and around ₹7 lakh spent on other legal expenses,” said Sharma.

In the RTI reply, it has also been informed that the total annual budget of the Board during 2014-15 was ₹6.06 crore, ₹7.16 crore in 2015-16, ₹7.3 crore in 2016-17 and ₹8,15 crore in 2017-18.