J&K LG Manoj Sinha sacks 103 firemen over 2020 recruitment scam
SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday sacked 103 firemen in the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The action was taken after an Anti-Corruption Bureau investigation established that their recruitment was illegal and fraudulently manipulated. The Lt Governor's administration had constituted an Inquiry Committee on December 12, 2022, to examine allegations of irregularities in the recruitment process of Firemen/Fireman drivers conducted in 2020 by the Fire & Emergency Services (F&ES) Department. The Inquiry committee, after detailed examination, recommended a criminal investigation by J&K Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) into allegations of paper leakage, manipulation of results and tampering with official records. The ACB during its investigation confirmed large-scale tampering in OMR sheets, fabricated scanned images of answer sheets, and illegal manipulation of merit lists, conclusively confirming manipulation of results in favour of 106 candidates. They were awarded marks far in excess of what they actually secured, and tampered with digital evidence. The government order by Chandraker Bharti, Principal Secretary to the Government, issued after approval from Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, stated that it has been established beyond doubt that the appointments of the 106 candidates were obtained fraudulently, through criminal means and result manipulation, rendering their appointments void ab initio. The protections available to civil servants under Article 311(2) do not apply in cases where the appointment itself is illegal and where the foundation of employment is vitiated by fraud, the order said and quoted rulings of J&K High Court and Supreme Court in this regard. The order stated that constitutional protections under Article 311 are not applicable in cases where appointments are illegal from inception. Of the 106 candidates identified as illegally selected, appointments of three firemen were also cancelled by the Fire and Emergency Services Directorate, while the remaining 103 firemen were terminated through the order today. All terminated employees have been directed to cease association with the Fire and Emergency Services department from the date of issuance of the order. Their continuation amounts to a perpetuation of illegality, undermining public trust and the sanctity of recruitment processes, adds the order. The Lt Governor's administration has alreadyblacklisted an IT firm, M/s LMES IT LLP and its vendor, Maharaj Krishan Wali and barred them from participating in any future recruitment-related bids across the Union Territory.
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