EWS Certificate Cannot Be Rejected Based On Mutation Records But Only After Due Inquiry Into Eligibility Criteria: J&K High Court

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court held that the EWS certificate could not be rejected merely by relying on mutation records. The court stated that a due inquiry must be conducted as to the eligibility criteria, wherein the applicant is given the right to a hearing before deciding the said application.

Justice Javed Iqbal Wani noted that the mutation records, stating that the ancestral property had devolved upon the petitioner's father and her uncle, had, in fact, become the basis for rejecting the petitioner's application. However, the case of the petitioner is that the said property had been devolved upon five shareholders.

The court referred to a Supreme Court judgment, holding that “mutation records do not create or extinguish title nor have any presumptive value on title, they only enable the person in whose favour mutation is ordered to pay the land revenue in question.”

The court also observed that in 2022-23 and 2023-24, the certificate had been granted in her favour, and there was no change in circumstances justifying the rejection now.

Additionally, the court noted that no opportunity for a hearing had seemingly been given to the petitioner before issuing the impugned rejection order.

The court directed the respondents to reconsider the petitioner's case for the issuance of the EWS certificate, having due regard to the fact that the certificate had previously been issued in her favour.

BACKGROUND:

The petitioner applied for an Economically Weaker Section (EWS) certificate under the J&K Reservation Rules, 2005. Her application was rejected based on a Patwari report stating that her father owned a three-story house constructed over five marlas of land. The petitioner contended that the house had been inherited jointly by her father, her paternal uncle, and three paternal aunts after the death of their father. She also contended that the certificate had previously been issued without any problem.

The court, while relying on Supreme Court judgments, held that a mere mutation record cannot be the basis for rejecting the certificate. The court directed the respondents to reconsider the case after conducting a due inquiry into her eligibility.

APPEARANCE:

Asif Bhat, Advocate FOR Petitioners

Mohsin Qadiri, Sr. AAG FOR Respondents

Case-title: Sadiya Sidiq Lone vs UT of J&K and others

Citation: 2025 Livelaw (JKL) 73

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