Srinagar: A local court in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar on Friday convicted a police Sub-Inspector (SI) for forging his date of birth to illegally obtain service benefits and an extension in tenure.

The City Judge Srinagar sentenced the accused, Sub-Inspector Jagdesh Singh, son of Kartar Singh and a resident of Areena Budgam, to three years of simple imprisonment and a fine of ₹5,000 for offences under Sections 420, 511, and 468 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).

Fake Matriculation Certificate Exposed During Probe

According to the Crime Branch Kashmir (CBK), the case was registered in 2023 after it was discovered that Singh had tampered with his official records to change his date of birth.

Investigations revealed that Singh’s matriculation certificate (session 1974, Roll No. 6759) was sent to the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (BOSE) for verification. BOSE officials confirmed the document was fake and fabricated, establishing his actual date of birth as November 10, 1957.

However, the accused had fraudulently altered his date of birth to November 10, 1959 in his service documents, including his Character Roll and matriculation record. This manipulation allowed him to illegally continue in service for two additional years and avail related benefits.

11-Year-Long Trial Ends in Conviction

The case took 11 years to conclude. During the trial, the Crime Branch produced 16 witnesses to support the prosecution.

In a 68-page detailed judgment, Judge Abdul Bari observed that Singh had “intentionally deceived the authorities for personal gain by falsifying official records.” The court held that the officer’s actions constituted clear criminal misconduct and forgery.

Accordingly, he was convicted and sentenced under Section 420 (cheating), Section 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), and Section 511 (attempt to commit an offence) of the RPC.

Second Such Conviction in Two Days

Officials also noted that this judgment came just two days after another Srinagar court convicted the former Managing Director of the Cooperative Land Development Bank on similar charges of forging his date of birth to extend his service tenure.

The court’s firm stance in both cases reflects a growing judicial intolerance toward document forgery and service fraud in government departments across Jammu and Kashmir.