Man wins legal battle to be Assistant Prisons Superintendent after 13 year wait

Srinagar, Nov 21: In 2003, 25-year-old Musharib Kawsar, a postgraduate in social work from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) applied for the post of Assistant Superintendent Prisons in the Home Department, following an advertisement by the Service Selection Recruitment Board (SSRB).

However, his journey to justice would span over a decade. Although the interview for the position was delayed until 2011, the final selection list was published in March 2012.

Despite topping the pre-interview merit list, Musharib's name was missing from the selection list.

The reason: The merit list indicated he had scored zero in the interview. SSRB claimed he was absent from the interview.

Determined to challenge this, Musharib who hails from Anantnag approached the High Court, initiating a legal battle that lasted over eight years. In October 2019, the court ruled in Musharib’s favour, finding evidence of tampering in the selection process.

The selection of the disputed candidate was quashed. The selected candidate, however, approached the Division bench of the court . However, in 2021 it upheld the single bench decision in favor of Musharib

The court also acknowledged that the tampering had been done.

“The finding of the writ court that there has been tampering in the checklist form filled up by the writ petitioner finds support from the record of selection produced before us,” the court stated.

It also criticised SSRB’s defense, observing, “It is painful to notice that even the officers at the helm of affairs have made all efforts to justify the wrong committed by its officers associated with the selection process.”

The court asked the SSRB to recommend the name of Musharib for appointment as Assistant Superintendent Jail. Despite the court’s decision, SSRB failed to implement the order, prompting Musharib to file a contempt petition.

Finally, last month, SSRB issued the recommendation for Musharib’s selection, which has now been sent to the Home Department for processing.

Reflecting on his ordeal, Musharib, who is aged 46 now asked, “Who will compensate for the 12 years I spent fighting this legal battle? Who will punish those responsible for tampering with documents and falsely showing me absent?”