Over 500 J&K Govt. employees being terminated for ‘anti-national’ activities

The Government of the J&K Union Territory has started the process of termination of those employees from their services found involved in ‘anti-national’ activities.  The government has completed a list of 1000 employees who pose a threat to law & order and security & integrity of the State.
According to Kashmir News Service (KNS), Government of J&K has learned that a section of its employees is proactively promoting anti-India hatred, assailing New Delhi’s decision of August 5, trolling and threatening politicians, government officers and business tycoons on social networking sites including WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and others.
Sources told that around 200 top officers from civil and police departments are in league with militants against whom a legal action is pending due to some technical hitches for long. They said Government has now collected concrete pieces of evidence against these employees in this regard and soon a big chunk of government officers besides others will be terminated from their services.
“Concrete and tangible evidence has been collected by different agencies against employees who are promoting anti-India narrative and soon their termination orders from their services will hit the stands”, officials wishing not to be named told KNS.
He said in past there were some technical glitches in their termination but the present dispensation is determined to take tough action against such employees who are fanning violence and creating law & order troubles on the ground by their physical participation.
On July 30, 2020 Government of J&K decided to invoke a special provision of the Constitution of India for the purpose of terminating the services of employees or reducing their ranks without holding an inquiry but on the basis of concrete evidence.
Notably, Article 311 of the Constitution empowers the Government to dismiss an employee on the basis of inquiry. However, most of the Government employees dismissal orders in the past, when J&K was a State, had been quashed by courts as the aggrieved petitioners contested the procedure or called the inquiry as ‘flawed’. Now the present dispensation of J&K headed by Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu has invoked clause (2)(c) of Article 311 that dispenses with the pre-requisite of enquiry in the matters where the President or the Governor, as the case may be, is satisfied that in the interest of the security of the State, it is not expedient to hold such inquiry.
As per the fresh order, the J&K Government has constituted a 6-member committee that would be processing for dismissal or reduction of rank all the cases to be referred to it by any department or police through the Home Department after proper scrutiny. Chief Secretary, Secretary GAD, Secretary Law, Secretary Home, DGP and ADGP (CID) have been appointed as its members.
Presently the strength of Government employees in J&K UT is around 4.5 lacs. Sources told KNS that a section of the Government employees in Valley has been a part of the separatist narrative and were involved in fanning law and order problems. They added a huge number of employees who took part in anti-state protests erupted since 2016 when a local militant commander Burhan Wani was killed in a gunfight with forces in the Bamdoora area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Sources added that such employees have resorted to anti-India slogans, stone-pelting and other unlawful activities frequently. They further added that Government has often failed to dismiss these employees who publically supported militant activities in Valley or worked as militant-sympathizers.