Aasif Ibni Ahad vs UTS JAMMU AND KASHMIR on 2 November 2026

CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL SRINAGAR Order Sheet Item no.: 5 O.A./1217/2026 (SRINAGAR) [ CANDIDATURE ] Court No.: 2 No of Adjournment: Order Dated: 02/11/2026 AASIF IBNI AHAD Vs UTS JAMMU AND KASHMIR

For Applicant(s) Advocate : M.A.WANI

For Respondent(s) Advocate : SYED MUSAIB - DAG, ASIF MAQBOOL., MS. FARHAT VIA VIRTUAL MODE VICE SHAH AMIR Order of The Tribunal 01/ Heard learned counsel for the petitioner at length. He submits that in pursuance of a representation filed by the petitioenr against the rejection of his candidature, which was placed before the appellate authority of the Commission for consideration, the matter was, accordingly, referrred to the Department of Mining for placing the same before the Standing Committee for the eventual decision with regard to the equivalence of the degree possesssed by the petitioner. To this effect he has referrd to a communication dated 14-10-2026 (annexure - I). 02/ Perusal of the communication supra reveals that the Standing Committee after detailed deliberations and the feedback from the University of Kashmir and the University of Jammu has decided that the degree possessed by Shri Asif Ibni Ahad - petitioner herein, is not equivalent to the prescribed qualification for the post, as such, his candidature was rejected for not possessing the requisite prescribed qualification for the post of Assistant Mining Engineer, as was required in terms of the notification dated 05-08-2022. 03/ Challenge is thrown to the communication on various grounds as have been urged in this O.A. He submitted that the University of Kashmir and University of Jammu are not competent to deliberate on the equivalence of the degree as submitted by the petitioner. Learned counsel submitted in terms of Government order No. 1384-GAD of 2018 dated 12-09-2018, a Standing Committee has been constitued to check the equivalence of degrees, academic qualification being brought to the notice of the departments in the Government by the candidates seeking equivalnce as regards degree/qualification. 04/ It needs no mention that the courts are not experts in the subject and it is always left to the domain of the experts in the given field. Courts can only interfere where there is arbitrariness attached to an order or where there is violation of statutory provisions or violation of the rules of fairness. 05/ Be that as it may, issue notice in this matter to the other side. 06/ M/s. Syed Musaib - DAG, Shah Amir and Asif Maqbool appeared and waived notice on behalf of their respective respondents. They shall file their detailed response within a period of two weeks' positively, particularly, as regards the impugned order and the Government order stated hereinabove. However, it is made clear that the rights of the petitoner shall be reserved in the meantime, which shall, however, remain subject to objections to be filed by the respondents. 07/ List for consideration on 18-11-2026. Prasant Kumar Member (A) M. S. Latif Member (J) Tariq Mota ( ps consultant )