HC raps DHBVNL over lax verification, orders action against officials in 8 weeks

Appointments obtained on the basis of forged certificates are void ab initio and confer no legal rights, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled, while directing the Managing Director of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (DHBVNL) to fix responsibility of officials tasked with document verification during recruitment. Noticing a pattern of forged entries into public employment, Justice Harpreet Singh Brar asked the MD to initiate disciplinary proceedings against delinquent employees and submit a compliance report within eight weeks.

Referring to the sanctity of public employment, Justice Brar observed that government jobs were both rare and highly coveted. Such positions carried “the assurance of stability and dignity,” and every opportunity assumed immense significance for aspirants.

“It is of the utmost importance to ensure that the recruitment process remains sacrosanct, free from evils of arbitrariness and laxity. The constitutional values of equality and justice must be clearly reflected in the approach adopted by the concerned State instrumentalities,” Justice Brar cautioned, adding that negligence in this regard would erode public trust and undermine the integrity of the system.

In his detailed order, Justice Brar went on to invoke two legal maxims: nullus commodum capere potest de injuria sua propria — no man can take advantage of his own wrong, and sublato fundamento cadit opus — when the foundation is removed, the structure falls.

Justice Brar held that obtaining an appointment through forged documents amounted to misrepresentation and fraud, which vitiated the process. “An appointment secured by employing fraudulent means renders such recruitment void ab initio and therefore, such appointment would not confer any legal rights or entitlements on the petitioner,” the court ruled.

Dismissing the plea of a petitioner who had managed to enter service on the strength of a fabricated certificate, Justice Brar held that he could not claim protection of prescribed procedures to escape accountability, as “fraud vitiates all.”

Justice Brar added the fraud indulged in by the petitioner came to light after he had spent 10 years in service of the respondent-Nigam “and received all monetary benefits arising therefrom, sponsored by the taxpayer”.

Justice Brar also rapped the Nigam for laxity in verifying certificates during probation.  “Clearly, it was due to the laxity displayed by the employee concerned that the appointment of the petitioner went through in spite of his lack of requisite qualifications, thereby denying the rightful candidate the opportunity of public employment”.

Justice Brar also referred to another case, where similar dereliction was noticed. Consequently, the court directed DHBVNL MD to “fix responsibility of the employee in-charge of the verification process, with respect to the petitioner and other similarly situated employees, and take appropriate disciplinary action against them.”

Why it matters

The ruling goes beyond the individual case to address a recurring pattern of fraudulent appointments in government service. By holding that jobs obtained through forgery are void from the outset and by directing accountability of officials who failed to verify documents, Justice Harpreet Singh Brar has sent a strong signal that both applicants and recruiters will be held to the highest standards of integrity. The judgment reinforces the principle that negligence in recruitment not only wastes taxpayer money but also robs genuine aspirants of scarce opportunities in public employment.