Hello,
The recruiters are very cautious while hiring any person for a government job, for which background check is an important aspect. Government and public sector undertakings have a very tough screening and verification process for the Candidate likely to be the employee. The process also may include a request of record from the District Magistrates/ police. The screening and verification process requires the consent of the candidate because privacy is a fundamental right.
There are two kinds of charges which can be filed against a person: Civil and Criminal. Civil charges do not affect the position in government jobs.
PAST CRIMINAL CASE
In the case of State of West Bengal and Ors v. Nazrul Islam[1], the apex court held that any person convicted or facing charges for a criminal offence, will not be considered an apt candidate for governmental appointments. In this case, for the recruitment of constable, the petitioner was selected and during verification, it was known to recruiters of the case where charge sheet had already been filed in the Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Uluberia, the petitioner had pleaded guilty and was granted bail. Aggrieved by the decision of the Administrative tribunal, an appeal was preferred in Calcutta high court which decided that the appointment cannot be terminated, and the final outcome will depend upon the outcome of the case
PENDING CRIMINAL CHARGES: SUSPENSION FROM SERVICE
As per the prevailing laws, if any government employee spends more than 48 hours in police custody, he is automatically suspended from the service, irrespective of the fact that there is no written communication or the senior officials not having knowledge of the same. If the charges are for dowry death case, then not keeping in mind the amount of time spent in custody the person is dismissed from service.
If this fact is kept as a secret from the superiors, notwithstanding the provision of double jeopardy, the person will face separate disciplinary proceeding for the same. Mere registration of an FIR will not affect the job prospect. To have any effect, the proceeding should have started in the court or the person must have been convicted of the offence.
Formation of Charges within three months: In the case of Ajay Kumar Choudhary v Union of India through its Secretary and Anr, it was held that framing of charges and formally informing of charges is an important step. If this step was not taken immediately firstly it will affect the right of a speedy trial and secondly, the suspension of the employee gets extended. So the ruling of the Supreme Court highlighted that a government employee cannot be suspended for more than three months if he is formally not informed of the charges framed against him.
CORRECTNESS: Right of fair hearing is both a natural and inherent right of every person, how do we justify the act of suspension of the government employee without even a formal communication. Every person is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty, so when charges are not even proven, the right of the arrested employee is certainly violated.
NON DISCLOSURE WITH RESPECT TO CHARGES
With respect of criminal charges, a person will be considered if either he has been acquitted of all the charges by a court of competent jurisdiction which is conducting the trial or have no criminal charges pending against him. The court also pointed out that the acquittal of criminal charges should be on merits and not a result of a compromise between the petitioner and respondent or of witnesses turning hostile.
In the case of Avtar Singh v. Union of India and others, the petitioner was involved in any criminal case due to which his appointment in CRPF was cancelled and service was terminated. An FIR was lodged under various sections of IPC. The Supreme Court deciding upon this gave the ruling that an employer has a right to act against someone who discloses incorrect or misleading information and issued guidelines for the same. Some of the guidelines issued are:
- The information about any charges (Conviction, arrest or acquittal) must be provided correctly to the employer and no fact should be suppressed or falsely represented.
- Even if the employee has declared all the pending charges, the employer is not bound to recruit the person.
- In case of multiple criminal cases and intentional suppression of the charges, the employer may cancel the appointment, suspend from the service or take any other decision as it may deem fit.
A landmark judgment in the case of State of Jharkhand v. Jitendra Kumar Srivastava and others.[4] was delivered by the Apex Court, with respect to the withholding of pension during the pending departmental inquiry/criminal proceedings. The apex court held that retirement benefits cannot be withheld during the pendency of any proceeding. The respondent was working with the animal husbandry department and 10 % of his pension was withheld. The High Court ruled in favour of the respondent and directed the department to release the pension amount.
Chances are you might face some issues due to the charge.
Thank you
