22/08/2026
For us, the sinking of the Titanic may seem too distant, but local instances of high-serving officers ending up in jail should serve as a constant caution about the dangers of hubris. The society that watches you wield power today is the very society whose acceptance you need tomorrow. Lest we forgetThis is not a verdict against the Tehsildar Sahib or any other official. After all, conduct rules do not allow public servants to validate media trials by issuing personal press releases or counter-allegations. The rules also mandate them to maintain administrative composure over defensive hostility. Rather, it is a grievance against a system that has allowed genuine dialectic to be replaced by public sophistry. A society anchored in the rule of law should not leave sensitive issues like that of Sopore, Tangmarg, or Poonch to be traded between conflicting parties in the press.The state must ensure independent fact-finding in such matters to preserve administrative integrity. Not merely to assign blame or fix criminal liability, but to restore healthy working relations between different limbs of the governance and justice delivery system. The administration shouldn't wait for bar associations or civil society groups to resort to public agitation at the expense of institutional dignity, nor should the state incentivise the official found to be at fault.It is time for The District Administration, Baramulla, to step in without furthef delay and engage the protesting Bar, call for an explanation, and hear the aggrieved young lawyers to prevent further distress to litigants. The Tehsildar must rely on official reporting to his superiors rather than narrative battles and public posturing.
