Srinagar, Jan 2 (PTI) People's Conference chief Sajad Lone on Thursday filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court against the "misuse" of police verification process.

The PIL, submitted through advocate Syed Sajad Geelani, seeks to address the "growing misuse" of police verification as a tool of "collective punishment, targeting individuals based on the actions or affiliations of their family members", the the party said in a statement.

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The party said Lone's move comes in response to his earlier commitment to protect the rights of citizens, emphasising that the police verification process should not penalise individuals for factors outside their control, particularly the conduct of their relatives.

"The current system has been used to deny citizens their basic rights, such as employment, access to passports and other essential opportunities. It is imperative that the verification process remains transparent, fair and aligned with legal standards," Lone, the MLA from Handwara, said.

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The PC president said the petition calls for strict enforcement of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Validation of Character and Antecedents) Instructions, 1997, along with amendments introduced through Government Order of 2021 and Circular of 2024, which mandate clear timelines for police verifications.

"These guidelines, which focus solely on an individual's criminal record, are often overlooked, causing unnecessary difficulties. We are committed to ensuring their proper enforcement so no citizen is unfairly punished for the actions of others," he said.

"When police verifications are based on irrelevant factors, such as the actions of a person's relatives, it not only violates their rights but subjects them to undue hardships which remains ethically and constitutionally unjustified," he said.

Citing the Supreme Court's "Bulldozer Judgment," which strongly opposed collective punishment, the PC president said his petition stresses that police verifications should focus solely on the individual in question.

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