Author: snskashmir

Srinagar, Jan 12: Jammu and Kashmir High Court has dismissed a plea of a Cooperative Bank’s employee who had sought quashing of an FIR against him by CBI and subsequent framing of charges under penal code and Prevention of Corruption Act for not being a public servant.

A bench of Justice Rajnesh Oswal referred to the explanation appended to section 21 of the penal code to reject the petition by the Bombay Mercantile Bank employee.

“In view of (the) explanation, it is evident that every officer or servant employed by a Cooperative Bank whether for the whole or part time is a public servant within a meaning of section 21 RPC and likewise section 2(2) of the J&K Prevention of Corruption of Act…,” the court said and rejected the employee’s contention that he is not a public servant and could not have been prosecuted for the offences under the PC Act.

“The second contention raised by the petitioner (employee) is that the allegations leveled against the petitioner do not make out any case for prosecuting him under the penal laws and liability if any, is civil in nature is also without any merit,” the court said.

It said that there are serious allegations against the employee with regard to abuse his official position by opening fictitious accounts and causing huge loss to the extent of more than one crore rupees to the Bank. “The criminal proceedings can be quashed only when the matter that is essentially of civil in nature has been given a cloak of criminal offence,” the court said as per GNS, adding, “From the perusal of allegations it is not made out that civil dispute has been camouflaged as criminal dispute. So this contention also deserves to be rejected.”

The challan reveals that the FIR was lodged on the basis of written complaint dated 13 January 2004 submitted to Superintendent of Police, CBI by Ashraf Ali Abbas, the then Branch Manager of the Bank.

“In the instant case, investigation stands concluded and the challan stands filed,” the court said, adding, “The trial court has taken cognizance of the offences mentioned in the challan and has even framed the charges against the petitioner (employee) and the other accused. Now at this stage, the accused-petitioner (employee) cannot raise a plea that the CBI had investigated the matter without any authorization and also there is no whisper that any miscarriage of justice has been occasioned to the (employee) due to such investigation by CBI.”(GNS)

SNS KASHMIR

JAMMU JANUARY 12 :

               Crime Branch Jammu registers a criminal case under relevant sections of law against the employees of Geology and Mining Department viz accused- Ajaz Mir, Drilling Engineer, the then Drawing and Disbursing Officer and Rohin Nanda Cashier for  their involvement in fraudulent drawals of GPF of the complainant and other employees of the same Department to the  tune of Rs. 33,03,447/-.

   A written complaint was received in Crime Branch Jammu from Deputy Secretary to the Government of J&K Industries and Commerce Deptt. Civil Secretariat, Srinagar with reference to Director Geology & Mining Department, J&K, Jammu letter along with connected papers regarding complaint filed by Mr. Shiban Lal Bhat, Drill Operator Grade-II, wherein he has alleged that he had applied for his G.P Fund in the month of Feb. 2020 for which sanction was accorded on 14-03-2020 and accordingly his G.P. Fund amounting to Rs. 17.00 lacs was released on 19-03-2020. However, the complainant further alleged that the GPF amount has not been credited in his Bank Account. After enquiry from concern Treasury he came to know that the amount has been credited in the account of drawing & disbursing officer 1^st on 19-03-2020. During enquiry the allegations have been prima-facie made out. Moreover, a serious fraud and financial embezzlement to the tune of Rs. 33, 03,447/- pertaining to GPF of employees is found to have been committed by the accused officials of Geology & Mining Department, J&K, Jammu. Thus, the accused persons in furtherance of their conspiracy have cheated the complainant and others with dishonest intention besides criminal breach of trust and gross criminal misconduct.   

The omissions and commissions, therefore, on the part of accused prima facie, constitute an offences punishable u/s 409, 420, 120-B IPC and r/w 13 Prevention of corruption Act. Accordingly, a formal case is registered in P/S Crime Branch, Jammu against the above mentioned accused persons and investigation of the case is set in motion.

SNS KASHMIR

JAMMU, JANUARY 12 :

The Jammu and Kashmir Service Selection Board today convened 178th Board meeting under the chairmanship of its Chairman, Khalid Jahangir to consider various matters pertaining to withheld recommendation, court cases, cancellation of selections and release of selection list for various posts.

In a statement issued to news agency-kashmir news service (KNS), The meeting was attended by Board members including Mohammad Shafiq Chak, Nazir Ahmad Khwaja, Pritamlal Atri, Harvinder Kour and Ashiq Hussain Lily, Controller of Examination, Musheer Ahmed Mirza and Secretary Sachin Jamwal while Special Secretary, Law, Jang Bahadur, Deputy Secretary, Vinay Khosla and other officers also assisted the Board in the meeting.

The meeting had detailed discussion on various issues relating to withheld recommendation cases of Divisional Cadre (Jammu /Kashmir), District Cadres (Jammu/ Kashmir and PM Package migrants), pending selection list for certain posts, returning of unfilled posts to concerned Indenting Departments, various pending legal cases in the form of writ petitions and original applications (OA) filed before the CAT and the Board took appropriate decisions on these important matters.

It was decided in the meeting to release withheld recommendation in respect of 28 candidates relating to  various posts. Besides, 14 cases were deferred for re-examination due to qualification related issues and other deficiencies.

Moreover, the Board also decided to reject the candidature of 15 candidates due to non-possession of requisite prescribed qualification/ eligibility criteria on or before the prescribed Cut-off date. It also approved empanelment of agency pursuant to transparent online bidding process for developing Web Portal for accepting online application forms for various notifications of J&K SSB.

Apart from this, the Board approved selection of 57 candidates for various posts advertised at different points of time and also decided to return 13 posts to the Indenting Department due to non-availability of eligible candidates against the said advertised posts. In addition, 09 court cases were also deliberated upon during the meeting and appropriate decisions in light of the directions of Courts were taken for timely disposal by the Board (KNS).

SNS KASHMIR

JAMMU JANUARY 12 :

 Describing the Abdullah and Mufti families as the “torch bearers” of the national flag in Jammu and Kashmir, Apni Party president Syed Mohammed Altaf Bukhari on Tuesday said he would like to give them full credit for having this region with India.

“I have a lot of respect for both the families (Abdullah and Mufti). They have a contribution not only for this region (J&K) but for the country as a whole,” he told reporters here.

Responding to a question about these leaders” influence on people with their “emotive slogans”, the former minister said, “I ask myself was the contribution and the sacrifices of the two families for this country less.

“Is it not a fact that they were the torch bearers of the Indian flag in J&K. If we are with India, it is because of these families – at least one of the families openly and the other covertly. So I would like to give them credit for having this region with this country,” he said.

However, he attacked the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), an amalgam of seven mainstream parties including National Conference headed by Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP, and claimed that the alliance had crumbled sooner than they expected.

“We never accepted this alliance as a people”s alliance. It was an alliance of the parties for the parties. They had to face the public and thus created a smoke screen. Anything on the foundation of a lie will crumble and it has crumbled sooner than we expected,” he said.

Bukhari thanked the people for voting Apni Party in the recently held District Development Council (DDC) elections and said an overall vote share of 5.5 percent is encouraging for a party which is just nine months old.

“We came before the people with slogans of achievable issues and politics based on truth. We did not raise any emotional slogans as was the practice over the last 72 years,” he said, adding “we could withstand the pressures of all that emotional politics which has been an important ingredient of politics in J&K for the last 72 years.”

In response to another question about the growing rift between the two regions of Jammu and Kashmir over trivial issues, he said both the regions have proved that they are above this politics.

“Had there been a say of the politicians, you could have seen a war. People”s will is running and they have lived for the last 72 years with love and brotherhood and will continue to live in harmony and peace with each other. The people know what some politicians do,” he said.

Bukhari welcomed the tourist arrivals in J&K from different parts of the country but was critical of the government approach.

“No doubt COVID-19 is a challenge but we have to move ahead. The tourists from different parts of the country have started coming on their own. There is no government initiative which is evident from the fact that the air fare between Jammu and Srinagar is selling between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000 and outside locations to over Rs 25,000. The government is nowhere and we do not see it,” the JKAP leader alleged.

He also criticised the government for its alleged failure to ensure better coordination among the members of the panchayati raj institutions and government officials.

“We have a serious question whether the government officers are ready to work with the newly-elected DDCs. Have they worked with Block Development Council (BDC) members and panches and sarpanches?” he asked, adding the “answer is no as nobody is ready to listen”.

Bukhari also urged the administration to gear up the official machinery and provide relief to the people affected by the recent incidents of fire and earthquake in the Chenab valley region.(PTI)

SNS KASHMIR

SRINAGAR, JANUARY 12 :

Jammu and Kashmir Bank has announced to allow aspirants to sit in re-examination for the Banking Associates’ post after seeking grant from IBPS, on the grounds of ‘extreme weather conditions’ on the earlier notified dates.

A notification in this regard, a copy of which lies with SNS, reads that “On J&K Bank’s request Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) has agreed to re-conduct exams for candidates who have missed the online examination, for the post of Banking Associates, due to extreme weather conditions on 3rd, 5th and 9th of January, 2021.”

The aspirants, as per the notification, can sit for exams after submitting their willingness to appear in the test.

The link https://www.jkbank.com/others/jobs.php for willingness is available on the Bank’s website till tomorrow midnight i.e 13th January, 2021. Willing candidates can download their fresh call letters from 15th January, 2021, the notification reads further.

URI JANUARY 12 :

Two army porters were injured after they fell from a hill in Uri area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Tuesday.

Official sources told hear that the porters slipped from the hill when they were taking some load uphill at a forwarded post of the army in village Nawarunda Uri and got injured.

The injured have been identified as Mohammad Ramzan Poswal (21) son of Mohammad Ashraf Poswal and Mohammad Rameez Poswal (17) son of Mohammad Ashraf Poswal.
Both of them were shifted to sub-district- hospital (SDH) Uri for treatment, they said. However, the duo was shifted to GMC Baramulla for specialized treatment, they said.

A senior police officer confirmed the incident .

‘No milk streams flowing in J&K as portrayed; GoI must send fact-finding team to UT to assess ground situation, Admin totally defunct, frequent highway closure should be probed at highest level; PAGD crumbled much before we expected it to fall, let there be an un-employment package for 7 lakh  youth’

SNS KASHMIR

JAMMU, JANUARY 12 :

Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari today urged the Prime Minister Narendera Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to fulfill the promise of granting statehood status to erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir stating that the Government of India should also announce an “unemployment package for the swelling number of unemployed youth of UT.

Bukhari also said that administration in J&K is defunct and the Srinagar-Jammu highway blockade has triggered a serious crisis which needs to be investigated and the contractors who played with the mountains for constructing a four-lane highway, need to be booked.

Addressing a press conference in Jammu, Bukhari said that Apni Party got 5.5 vote share in the recently concluded DDC polls adding that the Apni Party re-started politics after the August 5, 2019 decision of 2019. “We met PM Modiji, Home Minister Amit Shahji and discussed the 17 point agenda. Today, we urge the PM and the HM to fulfill the promise they made on the floor of the house,” Bukhari said as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).

While welcoming the new industrial package, he said that old industries should also be covered under the new package. “There are many youth who are still behind the bars, they should  be released. Security situation has improved. Misguided youth are returning. Militancy on a decline. There are educated youth sitting idle in homes. Let there be an unemployment pension package at the rate of Rs 10,000 per youth, a month,” he said, adding that India is a developed country and the world is seeing the country in the wake of Covid-19 vaccine. “There are seven lakh unemployed youth in J&K. We buy missiles worth billions of rupees, can’t there be an unemployment package.”

To a query about PAGD, he said it was an alliance of the politicians for the politicians to show a new face to the people. “It was expected to crumble, but it crumbled before we expected it to fall,” he said.

Bukhari said that the administration is  J&K got buried under a few inches of snow and the Srinagar-Jammu highway closure has added to the misery of the people of UT. “Earlier, we used to witness the highway closure once a month, now the situation has reached a point where high remains blocked for the entire month almost,” he said as per KNO.

“GoI must send a fact finding team to J&K to get the real situation on ground. Nothing is good on the ground. Administration is defunct and there is no development taking place anywhere. Let a team assess the ground situation beyond the computerized representations,” Bukhari said. “There are no milk streams flowing in J&K as being projected wrongly by some quarters.”

He said that frequent highway closure should be probed at the highest level and those who cut the mountains on the pretext of carving a four lane highway, should be held accountable and booked under national security act. “There is a serious crisis of essential supply in Kashmir as high is closed for so many days and won’t re-open due to damage to a bridge at Ramban,” Bukhari said—(KNO)

SNS KASHMIR

NEW DELHI JANUARY 12 :

The Supreme Court Tuesday suspended the implementation of the three farm laws and set up a committee to facilitate talks between the central government and farmer unions, in order to to resolve the impasse.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde and comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, said those “genuinely” interested in finding a solution would appear before the committee.

The apex court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the validity of the three farm laws that were enacted last September.

Coming down harshly on the Centre, the bench, headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, Monday questioned the process behind the enactment of the farm laws and expressed deep “disappointment” over the government’s handling of the farm protests.

It suggested the constitution of a committee that “will tell us if the laws are in public interest”.

In response, farmer unions thanked the top court, but turned down the idea of a committee to resolve the issue. They reiterated their demand for a repeal of the laws.

Meanwhile, the Centre filed an affidavit in the Court detailing “two decades of deliberations” that went behind the framing of the laws. It underlined the “serious, sincere and constructive efforts” made by the government to engage with “the limited number” of farmers protesting the laws.

The Centre and farmer unions have engaged in eight rounds of talks so far, but failed to break the impasse. Their next meeting is scheduled on January 15. Farmers are planning to intensify their protests by entering the national capital in a tractor march on Republic Day. (AGENCIES)

Addressing an annual press conference in New Delhi, General Naravane said Indian forces had to rise to the occasion in dealing with challenges last year.

SNS KASHMIR

NEW DELHI JANUARY 12 :

Army Chief General M M Naravane Tuesday said Pakistan and China formed a “potent threat”, and the “threat of collusion” could not be wished away. Addressing an annual press conference in New Delhi, General Naravane said Indian forces had to rise to the occasion in dealing with challenges last year, and were “fully prepared” to deal with any threat facing the nation.

“Last year we had to walk the talk and rise to the occasion in dealing with challenges,” General Naravane was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. He added, “Pakistan and China together form a potent threat, and the threat of collusion cannot be wished away.”

Amid the standoff with China, General Naravane said India has maintained high alert level along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). “We are ready to meet any eventuality; our operational preparedness is of very high order,” he said.

General Naravane said he hoped an agreement for disengagement and de-escalation would be reached with China. “We will hold on to our positions in eastern Ladakh and hope for a solution based on mutual and equal security,” he said.

Naravane also accused Pakistan of continuing to use terrorism as “an instrument of state policy”.

(Courtesy Indian Express)

SNS KASHMIR

SRINAGAR, JANUARY 12 :

The night temperatures decreased across Kashmir with Gulmargrecording the highest plunge to remain the coldest place in the Valley, the weatherman said on Tuesday.

A meteorological department official here told GNS that Srinagar recorded a low of minus 0.9°C against minus 0.2°C on the previous night. However, the temperature is above normal by one degree Celsius for this time of the year. Similarly, the mercury settled at minus 5.3°C in Pahalgamagainst minus 4.6°C on the previous night in the world-famous skiing resort. Qazigund, the gateway town of J&K, recorded a low of minus 1.4°C against0.2°C on the previous night. Kokernag recorded a low of minus 3.9°C against minus 2.0°C on the earlier night. Against minus 1.0°C on the previous night in Kupwara, the mercury settled at minus 1.8°C in the north Kashmir district, the official said.

Gulmarg, the world-famous skiing resort, recorded a low of minus 11.2°C against minus9.6°C on the earlier night, the official said.

Kashmiris in the middle Chillai-Kalan, the 40-day winter period which commenced onDecember 21 and ends on January 31. The period is considered the harshest of the winter when the chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum.

The cold wave, however, continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day-long ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold). Already, Kashmir Valley received heavy snowfall earlier this month, disrupting normal life.

The Weatherman has forecast “mainly dry weather” in the next24 hours and “no significant change till January 18”. (GNS)