HC raps power nigam over lax verification

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 in public employment, Justice Harpreet Singh Brar asked the MD to initiate disciplinary proceedings against delinquent employees and submit a compliance report within eight weeks.

Justice Brar observed that government jobs were 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,” he cautioned.

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. Consequently, the court directed the 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.”