J&K High Court to get 5-7 new judges in 2012

Magray, Azharul Amin, Kotwal, Bhat, Thakur among 7 cleared for appointment

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

JAMMU, Mar 5: With the clearance of the names of five advocates and two judges, the process of filling up all seven existing vacancies of judges in Jammu and Kashmir High Court has begun.

The Collegium, comprising Chief Justice FM Ibrahim Kalifullah and the two senior most judges of the state High Court, namely Mr Justice Virendar Singh and Mr Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir, is reliably understood to have held a meeting and cleared the names of seven advocates and judges for their recommendation. The other day only, recommendations are said to have gone separately to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Governor N N Vohra, union Ministry of Justice and Law and Chief Justice of India.  After intelligence and vigilance clearance besides necessary clearance by Chief Justice of India, warrants of appoints are issued on behalf of President of India by Department of Justice of the union Ministry of Justice and Law.

Having sanctioned strength of 9 permanent and 5 additional judges (including Chief Justice), JKHC has currently a total of seven incumbents. As such, seven vacancies are required to be filled up. In case Chief Justice Kalifullah, whose name has been reportedly cleared by Supreme Court of India, is appointed as a judge of Supreme Court in near future, the number of judges in JKHC would further reduce to six and the vacancies would increase to eight.

If knowledgeable sources are to be believed, names of two judges and five advocates have been received by Chief Minister and same are being processed for the state government’s remarks and recommendations. However, Government would be sending its observations in favour of only six candidates. Senior advocate Hakeem Ishtiyaq Hussain, who was believed to be among the seven, has passed away on Monday. He was son of former District and Sessions Judge, Hakeem Ghulam Hussain, and brother of recently retired judge of JKHC and now member of J&K Accountability Commission, Hakeem Imtiyaz Hussain.

Those being considered for recommendations by the state government include Registrar General of JKHC, Mr Janak Raj Kotwal and Principal District & Sessions Judge, Mr Bansi Lal Bhat, who is currently posted as Sessions Judge with CBI’s designated court in J&K. They have been picked up for elevation from the Judicial Service.

Five advocates, including Hakeem Ishtiyaq Hussain, are said to have been picked up from Bar, both in Srinagar and Jammu. They include senior Additional Advocate General, Ali Mohammad Magray, advocate Azharul Amin, senior advocate at Jammu wing of JKHC, Dheeraj Singh Thakur, and advocate Tashi Robertson of Leh who has been practicing law at Jammu wing of JKHC since 1992. Mr Thakur happens to be the son of former additional judge of JKHC, late Devi Das Thakur, who functioned as Deputy Chief Minister in Ghulam Mohammad Shah’s government in 1984-86. Dheeraj’s elder brother, T S Thakur, is already working as a judge of Supreme Court of India.

Among the seven incumbent judges at JKHC, four are from Bar and three from Service. After years of practice in home state Tamil Nadu, Mr Justice Kalifullah was appointed as a judge of Madras High Court on March 2^nd, 2000. He was transferred to JKHC on February 24^th, 2011 and appointed as acting CJ on April 7^th, 2011. On September 18^th, 2011, he took over as CJ of JKHC.

Mr Justice Virendar Singh joined Bar in his home state in 1978. He was appointed as a judge of Punjab & Haryana High Court on July 2^nd, 2002. Later, upon his transfer he joined as a judge of JKHC on April 19^th, 2007.

Mr Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir cracked the state’s Higher Judicial Service Examination with distinction in 1992 and was appointed as District and Sessions Judge of Kupwara on 27-05-1993. He was elevated as additional judge of JKHC on 31-01-2005 and became a permanent judge at the same place on 07-07-2007.

Mr Justice Jai Pal Singh, who belongs to J&K, was appointed as an additional judge of JKHC, after over two decades of legal practice, on 04-10-2005. He was confirmed as a permanent judge of JKHC on 01-10-2009.

Justice Mansoor Mir’s brother, Mr Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir, cleared J&K Civil Service (Judicial) Examination in 1992 and was appointed a Munsiff. After holding several key positions in subordinate judiciary, he functioned as Principal DSJ of Srinagar in 2006-07. He was elevated as an additional judge of JKHC on 23-11-2007 and confirmed as a permanent judge on 01-10-2009.

Mr Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar, who worked as a legal practitioner at Anantnag and Srinagar, was appointed as an additional judge for JKHC on 05-11-2008. He became a permanent judge on 05-03-2010.

Mr Justice Hasnain Masoodi, who has the distinction of masters from the prestigious Harvard University, was appointed as an additional judge of JKHC, after 27 years of judicial service, on 13-11-2009.

END

Sr advocate Hakeem Ishtiyaq passes away

Early Times Report

SRINAGAR, Mar 6: Senior advocate of Jammu & Kashmir High Court, Hakeem Ishtiyaq Hussain, has passed away during the process of treatment in New Delhi yesterday. Designated senior advocate by the High Court two years back, he was son of a District and Sessions Judge, late Hakeem Ghulam Hussain, and younger brother of lately retired judge of Jammu & Kashmir High Court and presently Member of J&K Accountability Commission, Justice Hakeem Imtiyaz Hussain. 

Hakeem Ishtiyaq suffered from liver cancer for few years and had recently undergone a surgical procedure at Medicity Hospital, in Delhi.The procedure involved part transplantation of liver donated by his daughter.

Dead body was in being carried from New Delhi to Srinagar by road. Large number of people from all walks of like called on the bereaved family and expressed their condolences. Funeral is likely to take place here today.

Founder editor and publisher of Srinagar Law Journal and Law Publications, Hakeem Ishtiyaq was himself author of several publications including a research-based work on preventive detention laws in vogue in J&K and rest of the country. He had been practicing law at J&K High Court since 1985.

According to highly placed and informed sources, he alongwith senior additional advocate general Ali Mohammad Magray, had emerged as top probable for the two vacancies of judges, from Kashmir Bar, likely to be filled up later this year. According to sources two more incumbents were likely to be picked up from Jammu Bar. Besides, two senior Principal District and Sessions Judges could be elevated and inducted as additional judges in J&K High Court which had more than half of its sanctioned strength vacant.

High Court Bar Association, Srinagar, and Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon, have communicated their condolences to the bereaved family, particularly Justice Hakeem Imtiyaz Hussain.

The work remained suspended in all the courts including the High Court and the subordinate courts at Srinagar on Tuesday on the part of lawyers as per the decision of the Executive Committee of HCBA.

To pay homage to the departed soul, a condolence meeting was held today at the conference hall of J&K High Court in Srinagar. A number of lawyers paid rich tributes to their departed colleague and appreciated his unmatched contribution to Bar, legal services and legal research and academics. Being the state’s only law publication, Srinagar Law Journal has published almost all landmark judgments of J&K High Court in the last over 25 years. Hakeem Ishtiyaq had also provided a helping hand to his brother Justice Imtiyaz Hussain in compiling and publishing voluminous books on J&K Service Laws and J&K Revenue Laws. Late Hakeem had also compiled and published a book on the preventive detention laws in vogue in India and the conflict riddled states of north east and Jammu and Kashmir.

END

Minister wanted Speaker-media stand-off continue

CM’s speech failed to reach people due to a politician’s ego

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

JAMMU, Mar 5: Stand-off between Speaker of Legislative Assembly, Mohammad Akbar Lone, and mediapersons was sustained by a Minister who, ironically, had been roped in by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as a troubleshooter and tasked to resolve the crisis. Entire media last week turned restive over the Speaker’s remarks that Press was under his control and the journalists were bound to disclose their sources if objected to by a Minister or MLA. The crisis ended after four days of stand-off when Speaker invited media back to the Press Gallery and withdrew his observation.

Rather than arranging a liaison between the outraged mediapersons and the Presiding Officer of the Assembly, the troubleshooter rode his own horse of egoism and made it a point that there was neither a meeting between the two nor withdrawal of the controversial remarks. On day third of the confrontation, some good Samaritans of the government and legislature succeeded in mellowing down the tempers. They fixed a meeting between the journalists and the Speaker, mainly to ensure that there was no boycott of media to proceedings on the day of Chief Minister’s reply to Governor’s address. Absence of media in the gallery would obviously mean total blackout of CM’s speech.

At the eleventh hour, the troubleshooter sent Director of Information, Farooq Reenzu, to make it clear to the journalists on boycott that the Speaker was neither in a mood to meet them nor withdraw the comments they were objecting to. That added fuel to the fire. When one of CM’s key aides folded his hands before the Minister and explained to him that the Government was suffering “huge embarrassment” due to the media boycott and blackout of CM’s speech would damage the interests of the government, he shouted back” “Are you only the government? Are we not suffering due to these media trials?”

The Minister, visibly shaken over disclosure of his fortune raising from 1996 to 2012 in media, is said to have provoked at least two other Cabinet Ministers and built maximum possible pressure on legislature to see that the stand-off continued. Journalists, he believed, should be “taught a lesson” before they proceeded further in their campaign of reporting corruption, nepotism and favourtism of Ministers and bureaucrats.

When the blackout of proceedings continued due to the Minister’s egoism and despite its best efforts government managed to publish CM’s speech in just one newspaper, CM removed the troubleshooter from the process of conflict resolution. His aide conveyed necessary advice to all concerned that CM wanted the crisis resolved at any cost “within today”. Thereafter, a fresh link of communication was created between Legislature and Press Club, mediapersons were assured of resolution according to their demand and invited to the Press Gallery.

Notwithstanding the discomfiture of four Cabinet Ministers, including the failed troubleshooter, Speaker withdrew his remarks with the clarification that media, like all Ministers, MLAs and others, was under his control only within the walls and matters of legislature. With that, journalists called off their boycott and the editors even obliged the government with publication of CM’s speech in the next issues of their newspapers.

END 

Promotion of IGs, DIGs, SSPs: DPC deferred

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

JAMMU, Mar 5: Middle and top ranking IPS officers, eligible for rank promotion from January 1^st, will have to wait for a couple of weeks more as the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) of the state Home Department has been deferred due to an investiture ceremony at Raj Bhawan on Tuesday.

Informed sources told Early Times that the proposal of the rank promotion of several middle and top rung Police officers, that had been since forwarded by Police Headquarters to the government, would remain untouched for a couple of weeks more. DPC, comprising Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, Principal Secretary Home B R Sharma and Director General of Police, Kuldeep Khoda, was scheduled to meet tomorrow and clear the rank promotion of over a dozen IPS officers. However, it was deferred today as a major investiture ceremony to give away honours to nearly 550 Police officers, is taking place at Raj Bhawan tomorrow.

Government has announced medals and awards in favour of over 550 Police officials for their gallantry and meritorious service since 2002 when the last Investiture Ceremony happened at Raj Bhawan in Srinagar. Since no investiture ceremony took place in the last ten years, these awards could not be handed over to the recipients.

Governor gives away the awards. Chief Minister, Ministers, legislators, senior government officials and mediapersons attend the investiture ceremony in large numbers.

Principal Secretary Home, Mr B R Sharma, confirmed to this newspaper that the DPC meeting had been canceled due to the scheduled Investiture Ceremony as both stood fixed in the afternoon on Tuesday. He said that the DPC would now seek a fresh date from Chief Secretary and meet accordingly.

Completing 25 years of service in IPS on different dates in 2012, six senior officers of Jammu & Kashmir cadre, currently holding the rank of IG, have become eligible for promotion to the rank of ADG on January 1^st. They include V K Singh, who has been on Central deputation since June 2007 and is currently posted in RAW at Singapore. Others in the group include IG Kashmir, S M Sahai, IG Jammu, Dilbagh Singh, and IG Personnel & Training at Police Headquarters, Sheikh Owais Ahmad.

IG Crime, Raja Aijaz Ali, and Director Sher-e-Kashmir Police Training Academy Udhampur, Ashok Gupta, had also become eligible for rank promotion on 01-01-2012 but both of them have reached superannuation on February 29^th last. DPC would now consider only Sahai, Dilbagh and Owais. VK Singh, who is likely to seek extension of his Central deputation by two years beyond June 2012, would be getting the benefit on pro forma basis.

Even as all the five substantive posts of ADG stand filled up, government has powers to create ex cadre posts equivalent to the number of substantive posts as a special arrangement. APRs of the incumbent officers for the previous five years, which should be ‘Outstanding/Excellent’ for 2 years and ‘Very Good’ for 3 years, as also clearance from State Vigilance Organisation, determine all these time-bound rank promotions in IPS, IAS and IFS.

As against the sanctioned strength of two posts of DG, J&K has currently only one in Mr Kuldeep Khoda who is due to reach superannuation on May 31^st. In addition to three IPS officers (proforma/ ex cadre), namely Commissioner Vigilance P L Gupta (1984), S K Mishra (1985) and Gopal Reddy (1985), five IPS officers of J&K cadre are currently functioning on substantive posts of ADG. They include ADG Armed/ Law & Order K Rajendra Kumar (1984), ADG Security Ram Lubhaya (1985), ADG Headquarters Dr Shesh Pal Vaid (1986), ADG Home Guard & Civil Defence D R Doley (1986) and ADG Prisons Navin Agarwal (1986).

None of the eight ADGs will be having the qualifying service of 30 years for elevation to the rank of DGP on Mr Khoda’s superannuation on May 31^st this year. Senior most, K Ranjendra Kumar, would attain it on 01-01-2014 and the runner-up P L Gupta on 01-01-2015. Ram Lubhaya would retire in just the 28^th year of his IPS on March 31, 2013.

Minimum of six vacancies of IGs would become available with the rank promotion of Sahai, Dilbagh and Owais and the retirement of equal number of IGs, reaching superannuation before becoming eligible for promotion to the rank of ADG. While as Managing Director of J&K Police Housing Corporation, Mohammad Amin Shah, has retired from service on February 29^th, IG Railway, Zahoor Ahmad Chisti and IG Armed/IR Jammu, Gulzar Singh Salathia, will be reaching superannuation on 31-05-2012 and 30-09-2012 respectively.

Among the total of 37 DIGs, eleven IPS officers of 1994 have become eligible for promotion to the rank of IG on January 1^st. Only one of them, namely Javed Mujtaba Gilani, is currently on Central deputation. He too is returning to the state after completion of seven years of deputation with CBI later this month.

Others, who have attained eligibility for promotion to IG by reaching 18^th year of service in 2012, include DIG Kashmir (Central Kashmir and Ladakh) Abdul Gani Mir, DIG Vigilance Mohammad Sulaiman Salaria, DIG CID Jammu, Sunil Kumar Sharma, DIG Jammu-Kathua range, Farooq Khan, DIG IR Jammu, Kamal Kumar Saini, DIG Security , P R Manhas, DIG Crime Yoginder Kaul, DIG Administration Alok Puri and DIG North Kashmir, Munir Khan.

According to sources Messers Javed Gilani, AG Mir, Sulaiman Salaria, Sunil Sharma, Farooq Khan and Dr Kamal Saini have bright chances of the rank promotion as a minimum of six posts of IG would be available soon.

Seven SSPs, who have 1998 as their year of IPS allotment and have entered 14^th year in IPS, have also become eligible for promotion to the rank of DIG on January 1^st. They include RP Resutra (SSP CID SB Jammu), Parminder Singh (SSP SSG), Dr Showkat Ahmad Malik (SSP CID SB Kashmir) Syed Ahfadul Mujtaba (SSP Vigilance), Abdul Hamid (CO IR-1st Bn) Mushtaq Mohammad Sadiq (Principal PTC Manigam) and Shakeel Ahmed Beigh (SSP Udhampur).

END

J&K High Court to get 5-7 new judges in 2012

Magray, Azharul Amin, Kotwal, Bhat, Thakur among 7 cleared for appointment

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

JAMMU, Mar 5: With the clearance of the names of five advocates and two judges, the process of filling up all seven existing vacancies of judges in Jammu and Kashmir High Court has begun.

The Collegium, comprising Chief Justice FM Ibrahim Kalifullah and the two senior most judges of the state High Court, namely Mr Justice Virendar Singh and Mr Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir, is reliably understood to have held a meeting and cleared the names of seven advocates and judges for their recommendation. The other day only, recommendations are said to have gone separately to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Governor N N Vohra, union Ministry of Justice and Law and Chief Justice of India.  After intelligence and vigilance clearance besides necessary clearance by Chief Justice of India, warrants of appoints are issued on behalf of President of India by Department of Justice of the union Ministry of Justice and Law.

Having sanctioned strength of 9 permanent and 5 additional judges (including Chief Justice), JKHC has currently a total of seven incumbents. As such, seven vacancies are required to be filled up. In case Chief Justice Kalifullah, whose name has been reportedly cleared by Supreme Court of India, is appointed as a judge of Supreme Court in near future, the number of judges in JKHC would further reduce to six and the vacancies would increase to eight.

If knowledgeable sources are to be believed, names of two judges and five advocates have been received by Chief Minister and same are being processed for the state government’s remarks and recommendations. However, Government would be sending its observations in favour of only six candidates. Senior advocate Hakeem Ishtiyaq Hussain, who was believed to be among the seven, has passed away on Monday. He was son of former District and Sessions Judge, Hakeem Ghulam Hussain, and brother of recently retired judge of JKHC and now member of J&K Accountability Commission, Hakeem Imtiyaz Hussain.

Those being considered for recommendations by the state government include Registrar General of JKHC, Mr Janak Raj Kotwal and Principal District & Sessions Judge, Mr Bansi Lal Bhat, who is currently posted as Sessions Judge with CBI’s designated court in J&K. They have been picked up for elevation from the Judicial Service.

Five advocates, including Hakeem Ishtiyaq Hussain, are said to have been picked up from Bar, both in Srinagar and Jammu. They include senior Additional Advocate General, Ali Mohammad Magray, advocate Azharul Amin, senior advocate at Jammu wing of JKHC, Dheeraj Singh Thakur, and advocate Tashi Robertson of Leh who has been practicing law at Jammu wing of JKHC since 1992. Mr Thakur happens to be the son of former additional judge of JKHC, late Devi Das Thakur, who functioned as Deputy Chief Minister in Ghulam Mohammad Shah’s government in 1984-86. Dheeraj’s elder brother, T S Thakur, is already working as a judge of Supreme Court of India.

Among the seven incumbent judges at JKHC, four are from Bar and three from Service. After years of practice in home state Tamil Nadu, Mr Justice Kalifullah was appointed as a judge of Madras High Court on March 2^nd, 2000. He was transferred to JKHC on February 24^th, 2011 and appointed as acting CJ on April 7^th, 2011. On September 18^th, 2011, he took over as CJ of JKHC.

Mr Justice Virendar Singh joined Bar in his home state in 1978. He was appointed as a judge of Punjab & Haryana High Court on July 2^nd, 2002. Later, upon his transfer he joined as a judge of JKHC on April 19^th, 2007.

Mr Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir cracked the state’s Higher Judicial Service Examination with distinction in 1992 and was appointed as District and Sessions Judge of Kupwara on 27-05-1993. He was elevated as additional judge of JKHC on 31-01-2005 and became a permanent judge at the same place on 07-07-2007.

Mr Justice Jai Pal Singh, who belongs to J&K, was appointed as an additional judge of JKHC, after over two decades of legal practice, on 04-10-2005. He was confirmed as a permanent judge of JKHC on 01-10-2009.

Justice Mansoor Mir’s brother, Mr Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir, cleared J&K Civil Service (Judicial) Examination in 1992 and was appointed a Munsiff. After holding several key positions in subordinate judiciary, he functioned as Principal DSJ of Srinagar in 2006-07. He was elevated as an additional judge of JKHC on 23-11-2007 and confirmed as a permanent judge on 01-10-2009.

Mr Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar, who worked as a legal practitioner at Anantnag and Srinagar, was appointed as an additional judge for JKHC on 05-11-2008. He became a permanent judge on 05-03-2010.

Mr Justice Hasnain Masoodi, who has the distinction of masters from the prestigious Harvard University, was appointed as an additional judge of JKHC, after 27 years of judicial service, on 13-11-2009.

END

Minister wanted Speaker-media stand-off continue

CM’s speech failed to reach people due to a politician’s ego

Early Times Report

JAMMU, Mar 5: Stand-off between Speaker of Legislative Assembly, Mohammad Akbar Lone, and mediapersons was sustained by a Minister who, ironically, had been roped in by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as a troubleshooter and tasked to resolve the crisis. Entire media last week turned restive over the Speaker’s remarks that Press was under his control and the journalists were bound to disclose their sources if objected to by a Minister or MLA. The crisis ended after four days of stand-off when Speaker invited media back to the Press Gallery and withdrew his observation.

Rather than arranging a liaison between the outraged mediapersons and the Presiding Officer of the Assembly, the troubleshooter rode his own horse of egoism and made it a point that there was neither a meeting between the two nor withdrawal of the controversial remarks. On day third of the confrontation, some good Samaritans of the government and legislature succeeded in mellowing down the tempers. They fixed a meeting between the journalists and the Speaker, mainly to ensure that there was no boycott of media to proceedings on the day of Chief Minister’s reply to Governor’s address. Absence of media in the gallery would obviously mean total blackout of CM’s speech.

At the eleventh hour, the troubleshooter sent Director of Information, Farooq Reenzu, to make it clear to the journalists on boycott that the Speaker was neither in a mood to meet them nor withdraw the comments they were objecting to. That added fuel to the fire. When one of CM’s key aides folded his hands before the Minister and explained to him that the Government was suffering “huge embarrassment” due to the media boycott and blackout of CM’s speech would damage the interests of the government, he shouted back” “Are you only the government? Are we not suffering due to these media trials?”

The Minister, visibly shaken over disclosure of his fortune raising from 1996 to 2012 in media, is said to have provoked at least two other Cabinet Ministers and built maximum possible pressure on legislature to see that the stand-off continued. Journalists, he believed, should be “taught a lesson” before they proceeded further in their campaign of reporting corruption, nepotism and favourtism of Ministers and bureaucrats.

When the blackout of proceedings continued due to the Minister’s egoism and despite its best efforts government managed to publish CM’s speech in just one newspaper, CM removed the troubleshooter from the process of conflict resolution. His aide conveyed necessary advice to all concerned that CM wanted the crisis resolved at any cost “within today”. Thereafter, a fresh link of communication was created between Legislature and Press Club, mediapersons were assured of resolution according to their demand and invited to the Press Gallery.

Notwithstanding the discomfiture of four Cabinet Ministers, including the failed troubleshooter, Speaker withdrew his remarks with the clarification that media, like all Ministers, MLAs and others, was under his control only within the walls and matters of legislature. With that, journalists called off their boycott and the editors even obliged the government with publication of CM’s speech in the next issues of their newspapers.

END 

Promotion of IGs, DIGs, SSPs: DPC deferred

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

JAMMU, Mar 5: Middle and top ranking IPS officers, eligible for rank promotion from January 1^st, will have to wait for a couple of weeks more as the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) of the state Home Department has been deferred due to an investiture ceremony at Raj Bhawan on Tuesday.

Informed sources told Early Times that the proposal of the rank promotion of several middle and top rung Police officers, that had been since forwarded by Police Headquarters to the government, would remain untouched for a couple of weeks more. DPC, comprising Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, Principal Secretary Home B R Sharma and Director General of Police, Kuldeep Khoda, was scheduled to meet tomorrow and clear the rank promotion of over a dozen IPS officers. However, it was deferred today as a major investiture ceremony to give away honours to nearly 550 Police officers, is taking place at Raj Bhawan tomorrow.

Government has announced medals and awards in favour of over 550 Police officials for their gallantry and meritorious service since 2002 when the last Investiture Ceremony happened at Raj Bhawan in Srinagar. Since no investiture ceremony took place in the last ten years, these awards could not be handed over to the recipients.

Governor gives away the awards. Chief Minister, Ministers, legislators, senior government officials and mediapersons attend the investiture ceremony in large numbers.

Principal Secretary Home, Mr B R Sharma, confirmed to this newspaper that the DPC meeting had been canceled due to the scheduled Investiture Ceremony as both stood fixed in the afternoon on Tuesday. He said that the DPC would now seek a fresh date from Chief Secretary and meet accordingly.

Completing 25 years of service in IPS on different dates in 2012, six senior officers of Jammu & Kashmir cadre, currently holding the rank of IG, have become eligible for promotion to the rank of ADG on January 1^st. They include V K Singh, who has been on Central deputation since June 2007 and is currently posted in RAW at Singapore. Others in the group include IG Kashmir, S M Sahai, IG Jammu, Dilbagh Singh, and IG Personnel & Training at Police Headquarters, Sheikh Owais Ahmad.

IG Crime, Raja Aijaz Ali, and Director Sher-e-Kashmir Police Training Academy Udhampur, Ashok Gupta, had also become eligible for rank promotion on 01-01-2012 but both of them have reached superannuation on February 29^th last. DPC would now consider only Sahai, Dilbagh and Owais. VK Singh, who is likely to seek extension of his Central deputation by two years beyond June 2012, would be getting the benefit on pro forma basis.

Even as all the five substantive posts of ADG stand filled up, government has powers to create ex cadre posts equivalent to the number of substantive posts as a special arrangement. APRs of the incumbent officers for the previous five years, which should be ‘Outstanding/Excellent’ for 2 years and ‘Very Good’ for 3 years, as also clearance from State Vigilance Organisation, determine all these time-bound rank promotions in IPS, IAS and IFS.

As against the sanctioned strength of two posts of DG, J&K has currently only one in Mr Kuldeep Khoda who is due to reach superannuation on May 31^st. In addition to three IPS officers (proforma/ ex cadre), namely Commissioner Vigilance P L Gupta (1984), S K Mishra (1985) and Gopal Reddy (1985), five IPS officers of J&K cadre are currently functioning on substantive posts of ADG. They include ADG Armed/ Law & Order K Rajendra Kumar (1984), ADG Security Ram Lubhaya (1985), ADG Headquarters Dr Shesh Pal Vaid (1986), ADG Home Guard & Civil Defence D R Doley (1986) and ADG Prisons Navin Agarwal (1986).

None of the eight ADGs will be having the qualifying service of 30 years for elevation to the rank of DGP on Mr Khoda’s superannuation on May 31^st this year. Senior most, K Ranjendra Kumar, would attain it on 01-01-2014 and the runner-up P L Gupta on 01-01-2015. Ram Lubhaya would retire in just the 28^th year of his IPS on March 31, 2013.

Minimum of six vacancies of IGs would become available with the rank promotion of Sahai, Dilbagh and Owais and the retirement of equal number of IGs, reaching superannuation before becoming eligible for promotion to the rank of ADG. While as Managing Director of J&K Police Housing Corporation, Mohammad Amin Shah, has retired from service on February 29^th, IG Railway, Zahoor Ahmad Chisti and IG Armed/IR Jammu, Gulzar Singh Salathia, will be reaching superannuation on 31-05-2012 and 30-09-2012 respectively.

Among the total of 37 DIGs, eleven IPS officers of 1994 have become eligible for promotion to the rank of IG on January 1^st. Only one of them, namely Javed Mujtaba Gilani, is currently on Central deputation. He too is returning to the state after completion of seven years of deputation with CBI later this month.

Others, who have attained eligibility for promotion to IG by reaching 18^th year of service in 2012, include DIG Kashmir (Central Kashmir and Ladakh) Abdul Gani Mir, DIG Vigilance Mohammad Sulaiman Salaria, DIG CID Jammu, Sunil Kumar Sharma, DIG Jammu-Kathua range, Farooq Khan, DIG IR Jammu, Kamal Kumar Saini, DIG Security , P R Manhas, DIG Crime Yoginder Kaul, DIG Administration Alok Puri and DIG North Kashmir, Munir Khan.

According to sources Messers Javed Gilani, AG Mir, Sulaiman Salaria, Sunil Sharma, Farooq Khan and Dr Kamal Saini have bright chances of the rank promotion as a minimum of six posts of IG would be available soon.

Seven SSPs, who have 1998 as their year of IPS allotment and have entered 14^th year in IPS, have also become eligible for promotion to the rank of DIG on January 1^st. They include RP Resutra (SSP CID SB Jammu), Parminder Singh (SSP SSG), Dr Showkat Ahmad Malik (SSP CID SB Kashmir) Syed Ahfadul Mujtaba (SSP Vigilance), Abdul Hamid (CO IR-1st Bn) Mushtaq Mohammad Sadiq (Principal PTC Manigam) and Shakeel Ahmed Beigh (SSP Udhampur).

END