‘When Public Jobs Become A Private Affair’
Jammu 02 Jan(KNB): A single-page order from the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Secretariat exposes a truth that thousands of unemployed youth in Jammu & Kashmir have lived with for decades, but rarely see documented so plainly.
On 11 September 2009, a single page order sanctioned the temporary appointment of an individual as Junior Assistant in the pay scale of ₹5200–20200 with Grade Pay ₹1900, citing a vacancy created due to the deputation of another official. The individual appointed belongs to district Kulgam.
The appointment was made without any reference to advertisement, competitive examination, interview, or merit list. The language is unambiguous, just one line “Sanction is hereby accorded, reads the order document issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Secretariat in September 2009.
However, the story refuses to fade with time. On paper, it may appear a routine administrative order, but in reality, it lays bare a systemic failure that continues to haunt unemployed youth in Jammu and Kashmir.
That order bypassed every principle of fair recruitment.
Public employment, under constitutional norms, is meant to be transparent, competitive, and accessible to all eligible citizens. This order, however, does not mention; Any public notification; Any selection committee; Any written test or interview.
Thousands of qualified youth were waiting for opportunities at that time. Many had registered with employment exchanges, prepared for examinations, and hoped for a transparent process. None were informed that the vacancy had already been quietly filled.
What was presented as a temporary arrangement effectively became an entry point into permanent public service.
Over the years, the so-called temporary appointment did not end. Instead, it appears to have been continued, absorbed, and eventually elevated. Today, the same individual is functioning as a Head Officer, a key position that controls files, service matters, and internal administrative processes.
This raises a disturbing question?
How did a non-advertised, stop-gap appointment evolve into a position of authority?
Under service jurisprudence, temporary appointments made without due process are not meant to confer long-term rights, let alone eligibility for promotion. Yet, this case suggests that the system not only accommodated the irregularity but rewarded it.
As per sources, the said official reportedly plays a decisive role in departmental functioning, processing files, influencing service matters, and shaping internal decisions. The irony is hard to ignore: a person whose own entry into service bypassed transparency now occupies a role that demands strict adherence to rules.
When the foundation is questionable, every floor built upon it becomes suspect.
For every such case, there is an invisible cost. One deserving candidate lost an opportunity. One family continued to wait. One young person crossed an age bar or left the region in search of work.
While competitive exams were delayed or never notified, some doors were quietly opened from the other side.
This case now demands transparent answers: Was the 2009 appointment ever advertised?
Under which rule was it later continued or regularised?
How many similar appointments exist across departments?
Will there be an institutional audit of such cases?
Until these questions are answered, claims of transparent and merit-based governance will remain incomplete.
Because when backdoor entries are allowed to climb into decision-making roles, the damage is no longer individual, it becomes structural.
Democracy does not weaken in one dramatic moment. It weakens quietly file by file, order by order until injustice starts signing files of its own.