MUZAFFARABAD: Six civil society members have moved the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court against a series of appointments, promotions, and transfers in its establishment, alleging widespread irregularities, nepotism and violation of service rules.

The petition — filed by Advocate Muhammad Shoaib Khalid, Muhammad Naveed Khan, Waqas Mehboob, Taimoor Qayyum, Aamir Qayyum and Shahid Saleem Bilali — was submitted through advocates Muhammad Waheed Arif and Khawaja Muhammad Akbar.

It names around 55 respondents, including senior officials, selection boards, and recent appointees in the court’s IT and administrative wings — 31 fresh recruits and 10 elevated from the subordinate judiciary.

Invoking Article 44 of the AJK Interim Constitution, the petitioners sought judicial scrutiny of what they described as a “mockery of merit and transparency”.

They alleged that appointments advertised in 2020, 2021, and 2024 were mani­pulated through re-designated posts, lowered qualifications, and backdoor inductions without re-advertisement.

Several beneficiaries, they claimed, were close relatives of serving officials, aided by “unpublished, person-specific rules”.

Examples cited in the petition included the hiring of 14 IT assistants against 10 advertised posts, and the appointment of stenographers who were immediately transferred to the high court despite being ineligible.

In some cases, they alleged, candidates bypassed the National Testing Service exam altogether and were handpicked by internal committees.

The petitioners further pointed to promotions and transfers based on retrospective or unpublished rules, warning that such practices eroded public trust in the judiciary. “Close relatives and friends were consistently picked by committees exercising powers beyond their lawful authority,” the petition alleged.

The petitioners asked the court to annul the disputed appointments and promotions, form a high-level commission to probe alleged nepotism, and verify the academic credentials of all high court officers.

They also sought binding directions to ensure future recruitment was carried out strictly on merit, with posts duly advertised and quotas observed.

A court official told Dawn that since the high court was observing summer vacations, proceedings on the petition would commence only after CJ Sardar Liaqat Hussain returns next week and constitutes a bench to hear the case.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2025