HC tells central govt offices to verify details for caste validity

In a bid to regulate caste validation of central government employees, the Bombay High Court last month had directed central government offices to give details of the caste verification of their employees recruited in SC/ST category. These offices have been asked to file an affidavit by February 10, 2014.

Pune-based NGO Adivasi Kruti Samiti led by Ravindra Talpe through advocate Uday Warunjkarhad had filed the writ petition. “The state government had adhered to the rules but central government offices were found violating the rules. We have cases from the central organisations where of the 743 workers in the said category only 25 of them have their caste verification done. Thirteen of them have got promoted without the necessary caste validity certificate,” stated Talpe in the petition.

Talpe pointed out that two persons were given promotion while 12 candidates have not obtained validity from the committee but their names being considered for promotion. Documents of five employees were not found in the office of the authority that issued the original caste certificate. They had selected three central organisations for the petition. In the HC order, Justice A Oka and Justice Revati Mohite Dhere said, “We direct that all appointing authorities of the central government shall comply with the requirement of Subsection (3) of Section 6 of the said Act as expeditiously as possible and in any event, within a period of three months from today.”

The order states that central government offices shall take action in accordance with Section 10 of the said Act against the employees whose caste claim has been invalidated and/or found false.

The order also states that while promoting the employees to the promotional posts which are reserved, the appointing authorities shall ensure that the orders of promotion are issued only on provisional basis subject to all the concerned candidates obtaining caste validity certificate within a reasonable time period.