Brother's Antecedents No Bar To Orderly's Regularisation: HC

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar- The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has allowed the regularisation of its orderly to continue, holding that denial of security clearance based solely on the alleged antecedents of his brother could not constitute sufficient ground to revoke his appointment.

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Firdous Ahmad Sheikh, a resident of Khrew, Pampore, had initially been engaged as a daily-rated worker in the High Court Wing, Srinagar, in April 2010. His services were regularised as an orderly in July 2024 under the High Court's Regularization of Services of Daily Wagers Regulations, 2022, subject to verification of his documents and character antecedents.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), J&K, however, denied security clearance to Sheikh in a report dated January 30, 2026, citing the alleged adverse antecedents of his brother, Abdul Qayoom Sheikh.

The matter was subsequently considered by the High Court Committee for Appointment and Promotion of Officials/Officers of the High Court Staff on September 7, 2026.

The Committee noted that Sheikh's testimonials had been duly verified and found genuine and that there was no adverse material concerning his own conduct, integrity, character or antecedents. It also noted that he had continuously served the High Court since 2010 and that no vigilance inquiry or complaint was pending against him.

Referring to the High Court's judgment in Mohd Amir Malik v. Union of India and others, the Committee observed that a person cannot be deprived of legal or service rights solely on account of the conduct or antecedents of a relative, unless there is substantive material directly connecting the individual with such activities.

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The Committee further noted Sheikh's assertion that he had been living separately from his brother for several years and had no involvement in his activities, adding that no material had been placed on record to rebut the claim.

It accordingly recommended that the denial of security clearance, insofar as it was based solely on the antecedents of his brother, should not be acted upon for revoking Sheikh's regularisation.

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The recommendation was approved by the Chief Justice, following which the High Court Registrar General, M.K. Sharma, ordered that Sheikh's regularisation as Orderly, effected through the July 4, 2024 order, shall continue.

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