The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has ruled that a woman who marries outside her native district cannot claim eligibility for district-specific recruitment unless she establishes local residence through credible documentary evidence.
Justice Javed Iqbal Wani dismissed a petition filed by Sushma Devi, who had challenged the cancellation of her provisional selection and sought appointment to a post reserved for local candidates of the concerned district.
The court observed that merely claiming continued residence in one’s parental village after marriage is insufficient to avail local preference in public recruitment. “A candidate married outside the district cannot seek the benefit of local residence preference unless such residence is proved by cogent and reliable evidence,” the court held.
The petitioner relied on a Panchayatnama to support her claim. However, the court noted that no other corroborative documents were placed on record. In contrast, official records produced by the authorities — including the ration card, voter list, and Aadhaar card — showed her residence at her husband’s address outside the district.
Justice Wani observed that in the absence of convincing rebuttal evidence against official documents, the petitioner’s claim of being a local resident could not be accepted.
The High Court concluded that the authorities were justified in cancelling her candidature, noting that the recruitment notification and its corrigendum clearly provided preference to local residents. Consequently, the selection of another candidate in accordance with the prescribed preference clause was upheld.
