WAJAHAT SHABIR
SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) has officially deferred the recruitment process for the post of Naib Tehsildar in the Revenue Department, following an interim order by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Jammu, which stayed the Urdu-only language requirement in the selection criteria.
In a notice issued on Monday, the JKSSB stated: “It is hereby informed that in view of interim direction passed by the Hon’ble Central Administrative Tribunal Jammu, in terms of Order Dated: 14.07.2025 in O.A./975/2025 with M.A./1009/2025, titled Rajesh Singh and Others v/s General Administrative Department, the process of inviting applications for the post of Naib Tehsildar issued vide Notification No. 05 of 2025 dated 09.06.2025, is hereby deferred till further intimation/orders.”
The move comes a day after the Tribunal, while hearing a joint plea by several aggrieved aspirants, observed that the mandatory requirement of Urdu knowledge as the sole qualifying language is prima facie discriminatory, especially in light of the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020, which recognizes five official languages: Hindi, Kashmiri, English, Dogri, and Urdu.
The petitioners, represented by Senior Advocate Abhinav Sharma, argued that the eligibility clause excluded thousands of otherwise qualified candidates proficient in languages other than Urdu. The Tribunal agreed, staying the relevant provisions of the J&K Revenue (Subordinate) Service Recruitment Rules, 2009, and directing the JKSSB to accept applications from candidates fluent in any of the five official languages.
The decision has triggered widespread relief among aspirants, many of whom had staged protests across Jammu in recent weeks, accusing the administration of enforcing linguistic bias and outdated recruitment norms. Social media campaigns demanding fairness had gained significant traction ahead of the court’s order.
