MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court on Thursday annulled the appointments made in the high court during the tenure of former Chief Justice Sadaqat Hussain Raja.
A single-member bench of the AJK High Court heard the petition requesting the court to declare the disputed appointments and promotions null and void.
Advocates Muhammad Waheed Arif and Khawaja Muhammad Akbar appeared before the court and presented their arguments.
As per details, the court suspended the appointment orders of 43 employees recruited in the IT and clerical sections of the High Court, declaring them against the rules. The judge declared that the appointment made by the selection board was not based on merit.
The writ petition, moved by six civil society members, alleged that these appointments and promotions made between January 2025 to June 8, 2025, were against merit and High Court procedure.
The petitioners named around 55 people, including senior officials, selection boards, and recent appointees, as respondents.
“The appointments to vacant posts, including junior clerks and stenographers, were made without following the proper procedure,” they alleged.
The petition stated that applications were invited through the National Testing Service (NTS) in 2020, but appointments were made through selection committees instead of NTS.
The petitioners have requested the High Court to constitute a high-level commission to investigate all these appointments and promotions and to take disciplinary action against those involved.
They also sought annulment of the appointments made to various posts and verification of educational degrees, documents, and certificates of all officers posted in the High Court during the former CJ tenure.
