SRINAGAR, Oct 4 (Agencies): The Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK), has declared the appointment of a teacher as “fraudulent” and null and void ab-initio, after an official inquiry found that the appointment and subsequent promotion orders cited in his service records were never issued by the competent authority.
In an order dated September 3, 2026, DSEK has declared the entry of Imtiyaz Ahmad, in the School Education Department as non-est in the eyes of law and ordered recovery of all benefits drawn on the basis of the alleged appointment.
Ahmad was working as a teacher at Boys Middle School Gagribal in Zone Nishat.
As per the order, the teacher remained unauthorisedly absent from service from February 21, 2024, after the winter vacation for the 2023-24 academic session.
The department said a show-cause notice was served on him by the Zonal Education Officer, Nishat, on May 31, 2024, directing him to resume duties within seven days.
“No response was received from him following which the Chief Education Officer, Srinagar, reported the matter to the Directorate,” the order reads.
The case took a serious turn when scrutiny of his service records allegedly revealed that Ahmad was purportedly appointed as a Laboratory Assistant in 2013 and subsequently promoted as a Teacher in 2018.
However, verification of official records revealed that no such appointment order, endorsement or promotion order was actually issued by the competent authority.
The DSEK subsequently ordered a detailed inquiry into the alleged appointment and his prolonged unauthorised absence.
“The inquiry report was submitted in April 2026,” it reads.
Following the report, the department issued a final notice to Ahmad in June, asking him to appear personally and produce his testimonials, original appointment order and promotion order purportedly issued in his favour.
In his response, Ahmad acknowledged that he was allegedly “misled and trapped” in a fraudulent and irregular process by certain individuals saying that he had to discontinue in the year 2023.
The Education Department, relying on judgments of the J&K High Court and the Supreme Court concerning fraudulent appointments, held that an appointment based on forged or non-existent documents is “non-est in the eyes of law.”
The order cited a 2022 judgment of the High Court of J&K and Ladakh in Mehmooda vs State of J&K & Others, stating that there was no requirement to conduct an inquiry into a fraudulent appointment which was non-est in law.
“The fraudulent entry managed into the School Education Department by Imtiyaz Ahmad being non-est in the eyes of law, is hereby declared null and void, ab-initio,” the order reads.
The department further directed that all benefits drawn from the alleged fake entry be recovered from Ahmad.
DSEK has also asked the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, to recover the fraudulently drawn amount from Ahmad’s property as arrears under the J&K Land Revenue Act.
The copy of the order has also been forwarded to the Economic Offences Wing, Kashmir (Srinagar), besides the Chief Education Officer, Srinagar, for information and necessary action.