Provision of Permanent Resident has put ‘Subjects of J&K’ to hardships – Part-IV

 Daya Sagar
Sub-Rule-3 of Rule-3 of Grant of Permanent Resident Certificate (Procedure) Act No. XIII of 1963 and The Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Permanent Resident Certificate (Procedure) Rules, 1968 Presentation and verification of applications and making of Appearances lays down :- Every application made for grant of PRC shall be accompanied by an affidavit as to the correctness of the statement made by applicant in his application.
The sub-rule also says that the application may also be accompanied by any documentary evidence to show that the applicant is a permanent resident of the State.
Such evidence shall consist of a certified copy of the entries in the electoral roll, record of rights or annual record, or the register of Births and Deaths prepared or maintained respectively under the Jammu and Kashmir representation of People Act, 1957, the Jammu and Kashmir Land Revenue Act, 1996 and the Jammu and Kashmir Chowkidari Act. 1956, or the Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Act, 2008 or the original or attested copy of a document whereby title to any immovable property has been acquired.
The practices being followed by the Tehsildars /Naib Tehsildars/ Girdawars/ Patwaries for processing the cases are in general governed by the guidelines issued by concerned Divisional Commissioners/ Deputy Commissioners ( that are also loaded on websites) and documents required to be submitted with the applications include (1) revenue extracts of a) Record of Rights ( Misli Hiqiyat) b) Details of Pedegree table ( Shajra Nasb) c) Khaka Dasti of the House 2) PRC of Father/Brother with relationship certificate. 3) Certificate of being un-married for ladies who are not married, such certificates remain in force till her marriage only. In case of married the certificate remains valid till the subsistence of the marriage 4) Copy of Electoral Roll. 5) Extract of Choola Bandi 6) Statements of Applicant/Father & two witnesses preferably Numbardar/ Chowkidar has to be recorded by verifying officers in the Tehsils.
Assistant Commissioner Rajouri had notified 01.Affidavit(s) of the applicant(s) 02. Copy of Bikrami Jamabandi 03.Copy of Record of Rights 04.
Copy of current jamabandi 05.Copy of current Girdawari 06.Copy of any other revenue record for missing links 07.Copy of Ration Card 08.Copy of Voter List 10. Copy of voter list of 1951/Grazing permits & notice in newspaper for nomads/landless applicants 11.Statement(s) of applicant(s) 12.Statement(s) of father/grand-father, if immovable property in their name. 13.Age proof 14.Statements of two witnesses 14. Report of Tehsildar.
The list of documents mentioned above leaves it for the revenue officer to decide whether he would need all referred documents or he would need specific documents and it is surely unfair.
More so all the documents that are mentioned here are not needed / are not applicable in all cases.
Where is the need to ask from the decedents of those people who held the State Subject of Class-1 or Class-II on 14 May 1954 in terms of Section-6 of J&K Constitution and Note-II appended with Notification No. 1-L/84 dated the twentieth April, 1927 of Maharaja Hari Singh’s Government for documents like (1) revenue extracts of a) Record of Rights ( Misli Hiqiyat) b) Details of Pedegree table ( Shajra Nasb) c) Khaka Dasti of the House ,2) Copy of Electoral Roll. 3) Extract of Choola Bandi 4) Copy of Bikrami Jamabandi 5).Copy of Record of Rights 6.Copy of current jamabandi
7.Copy of current Girdawari, 8.Copy of any other revenue record for missing links 9.Copy of Ration Card 10.Copy of Voter List 11.Copy of voter list of 1951/Grazing permits & notice in news paper for nomads/landless applicants 12.if immovable property in their name .
Surely there is no such need for demanding many of the documents listed here where a PRC has to be issued to the descendant son /daughter of an elder already holding a PRC ( State Subject Certificate ) unless a particular case comes before the designated officer where enquiry is required regarding the claims.
No doubt as regards issue of Permanent Resident certificates to some other Indian citizens , who are not permanent residents of J&K, but might have contributed or could contribute something special to J&K cause may it be that so far lesser demands have come from the Kashmir Valley as compared to suggestions from other regions but that is surely more because, so far, the politicians have succeeded in exploiting the common man of Kashmir valley in the name of ‘local identity’/ preservation of demography.
But as regards the issue of “Permanent Resident of J&K certificate’ to descendants of persons holding the State Subject / Permanent Resident status the people of Kashmir Valley too are facing similar bureaucratic problems as are being faced by the people of Jammu and Ladakh regions. This message will have to be carried to the ground level in all the regions. Some people from Kashmir valley too have expressed such like sufferings.
Hence need is to even “pray” to the officers to have immediate relook into the rules and the guideline circulars issued in past and make corrections / modifications where ever needed as regards streamlining the procedures atleast as regards issue of PR certificates to the descendants of PRC holders by.
Such corrections could be made without making use of Section-8 and Section-9 of J&K Constitution but the only need is of concernedness about one’s duty simply by taking guides from the vital but simple facts like1.
The Clause (a) of Sub-Section – 1 of Section-6 of Constitution of JK (Every person who is, or is deemed to be, a citizen of India under the provisions of the Constitution of India shall be a permanent resident of the State, if on the fourteenth day of May, 1954- he was a State Subject of Class I or of Class II ) and Clause (b) of Sub-Section-1 of Section-6 (having lawfully acquired immovable property in the State, he has been ordinarily resident in the State for not less than ten years prior to that date.) are separated from each other by the word ‘OR’.
2. Note-II appended with Notification No. 1-L/84 dated the twentieth April, 1927 that says: “The descendants of the persons who have secured the Status of any Class of the State Subjects will be entitled to become the State Subjects of the same class. For example, if A is declared a State Subject of Class-II his sons and Grandsons will ipso facto acquire the status of the same Class (II) and not of Class-I.” And going by the contents of Section-7 of JK Constitution the Note -II explanation would hold good for PRC holder as well after 1957.
…… To be continued
(Daya Sagar is a Sr Journalist and social activist can be reached at [email protected])