Fake Certificates

While the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal ministry for notification of a community as Scheduled Tribe under Article 342 of Constitution of India, the responsibility for issuance and verification of Scheduled Tribe certificates rests with the concerned State Government/UT Administration. Thus, complaints received about fake Scheduled Tribe certificates are referred to the concerned State Government / UT Administration for appropriate action.

As informed by the Department of Personnel and Training, the extant instructions provide that if it is found that a Government servant had furnished false information or produced a false certificate in order to secure appointment, he should not be retained in service. Thus when an appointing authority comes to know that an employee had submitted a false / fake caste certificate, it has to initiate action to remove or dismiss such an employee from service as per the provisions of relevant Service Rules.

The Government has also requested all the States/Union Territories from time to time to streamline the process for verification of claims of candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and to issue instructions to District Magistrates / District Collectors / Deputy Commissioners to ensure at their own level the veracity of caste certificates so that unscrupulous non-SC/ST/OBC persons are prevented from securing jobs meant for SCs/STs/OBCs by producing false certificates.

Further, in order to discourage unscrupulous activities, State Governments / Union Territories have also been requested to consider issue of appropriate instructions for initiating disciplinary proceedings against the errant officers who default in timely verification of caste certificates or who issue false certificates.

This information was given by Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Shri Jaswantsinh Bhabhor in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

Courtesy: pib.nic.in