Parliamentary Committee Stages Proposal For New Law Against Fake Caste Certificates

The Center was advised to file a bill by the Parliamentary Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, which would criminalize the use of fake caste certificates and set a deadline for their verification. The committee turned in its report, which was titled “Implementing the Reservation Policy in Ministries and Departments Concerning the Verification of Caste Certificates.”

No one to be benefitted from fake certificates

The committee stated in its report that it had taken suo motu cognizance of the problem following complaints and representations concerning various public sector firms withholding employees’ retirement benefits due to late submission of caste certificates. The research stated that no one would be able to obtain employment by using false certificates if a system of a time-bound verification process was put in place once a person was employed.

“There must be limitation period for verification of caste certificate of SCs and STs as verification at the far end of the service or post- retirement amounts to mental and financial agony in the mind of the person who has served for more than 30 to 40 years in government service, “ the report said.

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Pensioners facing issues

The committee reported that in the course of the hearings, it learned of instances in which retired employees’ gratuities or pensions were withheld due to delays or failure to submit their caste certificates.

“The Committee in their observation had remarked that state level scrutiny committees usually cause inadvertent delay in processing the cases causing extreme mental harassment and financial difficulties to the retired employees and therefor had recommended that the Ministry/DoPT (department of personnel and training) should bring out clear guidelines for process of the verification of caste certificate which should be adhered to by all the state governments/state level scrutiny committees,” the report said.

In its report, the Committee reaffirmed that the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare standards do not permit withholding of retirement payments for any other reason, including while the employee’s caste status is being verified.