The Madras High Court has ordered the compulsory retirement of an employee of the Indra Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) who has been recruited by submitting a forged community certificate.
Ganesan could not be allowed to get the benefits on technical grounds and he could not get a premium or bounty, as the initial appointment itself was void ab initio (void from the beginning).
However, taking note of the fact that he had received the Presidential award, a sympathetic view was taken by granting only 40 percent of the pensionary benefits, in the exercise of the powers of this court, the judges said.
Background of the Case
IGCAR filed a petition against D Ganesan, scientific assistant. He allegedly applied for the post of trainee in Baba Atomic Research Station, Mumbai, in 1986 by submitting a fake community certificate.
The certificate showed that D Ganesan belonged to a Scheduled Caste (SC) community, though he belonged to a Backward Community. He did this to gain age relaxation during recruitment. He was posted as Tradesman/C in BARC in 1989 and was transferred to IGCAR in 1992.
The SC/ST employees association of the Department of Atomic Energy lodged a complaint against him in 2012; subsequently, he was arrested and placed under suspension.
Court Proceedings
A division bench of Justices S Vaidyanathan and Mohammed Shaffiq passed the orders on a writ petition filed.
The bench said the government should also think of amending the rules to enable the department to proceed against the employee even after retirement/superannuation.
The order stated, “This court ought not to have granted even this relief to the applicant, had the department approached the court well within time. It is made clear that he is not eligible for any other terminal benefits, such as gratuity, DCRG (death cum retirement gratuity) and the like, excluding the provident fund contribution, if any was made by him.”
