Srinagar, Mar 16: A special anti-corruption court in Srinagar has convicted a revenue official in a bribery case dating back to 2012, sentencing him to imprisonment and fines for demanding and accepting a bribe in connection with land documents.

Special Judge Anti-Corruption Court Srinagar, Dr. Tasleem Arief Ganie, found Bashir Ahmad Dar, son of Abdul Wahab Dar of Arreh Mohanpora, Kulgam, guilty. At the time of the offence, Dar was serving as a girdawar and had allegedly demanded Rs 1,000 from a complainant in exchange for issuing Intikhabs for land measuring 36 kanals and 12 marlas.
The complaint, filed on February 9, 2012, led to a trap laid by the Vigilance Organisation Kashmir (now the Anti-Corruption Bureau, ACB), in which Dar was caught red-handed accepting the bribe. Following investigation, a chargesheet was filed on February 2, 2013, and the matter proceeded to trial.
The court convicted Dar under Section 5(2) read with Section 5(1)(d) of the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 161 of the Ranbir Penal Code. He was sentenced to two years of simple imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000 under the corruption law, along with one year of simple imprisonment and a Rs 5,000 fine under the Ranbir Penal Code provision.
Meanwhile, in a separate case, the ACB Udhampur-Reasi has filed a chargesheet against another revenue official, Mohd Saleem Banday, for alleged misuse of official powers in a land mutation case. Banday, formerly a patwari in Halqa Mand Tikri, is currently posted as girdawar in Halqa Judda, Arnas tehsil, Reasi.
Investigators alleged that Banday attested Mutation No. 2338 (dated August 9, 2006) in violation of Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, conferring undue benefits to certain beneficiaries. Verification revealed that the property involved consisted of shops rather than a dwelling, making the mutation legally inapplicable.
Banday was recently arrested in a separate trap case in 2026 and remains in judicial custody. Another corruption case against him, registered in 2013, is still under investigation.
These cases highlight the vigilance authorities’ continued focus on curbing corruption within the revenue department and ensuring accountability in public service.