Held as ‘spy’ and acquitted, Uttar Pradesh man will be judge now

According to a July 2019 report of the “military authority” to the Kanpur District Magistrate, which the High Court took note of, Kumar was arrested in a joint operation by the STF and Military Intelligence on June 13, 2002, based on inputs received from “sister intelligence agencies”. The report said Kumar’s “father was also found to be suspended from the service of an additional Judge for charges of bribery in 1990”.

The report alleged that Kumar, “in search of easy money options had come in contact of a person namely Faizan Illahi”, who ran a photostat shop and who allegedly asked him to “provide him some information on telephone in exchange of money”. The report alleged that Kumar passed on sensitive information of the Kanpur cantonment in exchange for money.

In its 2014 order acquitting him, a Kanpur court said, “…the prosecution must demonstrate that the accused has expressed or attempted to incite hatred or contempt towards the Government through words, signs, or visible representations. In this case, there is no evidence on record from the prosecution’s witnesses to substantiate claims of such actions against the Government.”

Two years later, Kumar applied for the UP Higher Judicial Service under the UP Higher Judicial Service (Direct Recruitment) Examination, 2016, securing the 27th position in the merit list. On August 18, 2017, the High Court recommended his appointment, along with other selected candidates, to the state government. However, Kumar was not issued an appointment letter.

In response, he approached the High Court, which, in August 2017, directed the state government to present the matter to the Governor within two weeks and obtain an opinion within the following month, after consulting relevant authorities. The court further instructed the state to proceed with the appointment if necessary. Additionally, the court imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on the State for its “indifferent attitude” and delay in acting on its recommendation regarding the petitioner’s appointment.

The order was not challenged. Subsequently, the matter was reviewed by the state government, which, through an office memorandum dated September 26, 2019, declined to appoint the petitioner.

Kumar then filed a fresh petition in the Allahabad High Court with a prayer to quash the state government’s 2019 order and seeking appointment as Additional District Judge in the UP Higher Judicial Service.

In the High Court order passed on December 6, a division bench of Justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Donadi Ramesh quashed the state government order and asked for Kumar to be appointed against existing vacancies after carrying out a “character verification of the petitioner within a period of two weeks”.

“Consequentially, upon completion of all formalities, appointment letter may be issued to the petitioner not later than 15th January 2025. The petitioner may be appointed against existing vacancies, as on date. This modified relief we have granted because though selected against vacancy of 2017, neither those vacancies survive in the light of the provision of U.P. HJS Rules and also, the petitioner does not have any work experience in the HJS cadre for the last seven years,” the court said.

The court went on to say, “No material exists with the State respondents to reach a conclusion that the petitioner may have worked for any foreign intelligence agency. The fact that he may have been on the ‘radar’ of the Indian intelligence agencies, itself means nothing. To be suspected of an offence is not an offence or a scar on a citizen’s character… To say, a citizen would continue to be suspected of an offence alleged and therefore be deprived of fruits of hard labour and ‘honourable acquittal’ earned by him, would be, to not only vicariously penalise an innocent citizen after his innocence has been established in a Court of law, but it would successfully militate against the rule of law itself, guaranteed by the Constitution.”