The High Court of J&K and Ladakh has dismissed a plea seeking to quash an FIR that the Crime Branch’s Economic Offences Wing here has registered against a woman accused of obtaining RBA certificate fraudulently and using the same to secure appointment as an Assistant Professor (AP) in Biochemistry.
In its decision denying to scrap the FIR, a bench of Justice Sanjay Dhar noted that the material collected during the investigation prima facie disclosed cognizable offences and that the Court could not exercise its inherent jurisdiction to quash the FIR.
The case pertains to the allegations of cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The investigation agency’s case is based on the contention that the petitioner obtained the RBA certificate in 2013, within two years of her marriage to a resident of Handwara against the applicable rules requiring a claimant to have resided in the backward area for at least 15 years before applying.
The investigation divulged that the certificate was allegedly issued on the basis of false information and incorrect reports by revenue officials and was subsequently used before the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission to secure public employment.
The probe also found alleged irregularities concerning the renewal of the certificate and tampering with official records.
After hearing Sr Advocate P Kohli for the petitioner and advocate F A Bhat for one of the respondents (complainants), the court rejected the contention that the Economic Offences Wing lacked jurisdiction to probe the case, noting that offences relating to documents fall within its jurisdiction under SO 232 of 2022.
While the court noted the case was not merely one involving violation of rules, it said the material prima facie indicated that the RBA certificate and its renewal had allegedly been obtained through fraudulent means. It, accordingly, dismissed the petition challenging the FIR No. 9/2025.
The investigating agency alleged that the certificate had been issued illegally and through abuse and misuse of official position by the concerned revenue authorities, leading to the registration of the FIR.
In response to the objection to jurisdiction, the Court referred to the notification SO 232 dated May 9, 2022, under which the offices of the Crime Branch, including the Economic Offences Wings at Jammu and Srinagar, were declared police stations with jurisdiction over specified categories of offences.
The jurisdiction of an investigating agency is determined by the nature of offences disclosed in the FIR at the time of its registration and not by the offences that may ultimately be established after completion of the investigation, the court said.
