Introduction:

In the case of Bank of Baroda v. The Chairman and Others [W.P.No.15195 of 2025, 2025 LiveLaw (Mad) 165], the Madras High Court, comprising Justice S.M. Subramaniam and Justice K. Rajasekar, addressed the widespread concern over the issuance of bogus community certificates used to secure public employment under reservation quotas.

Arguments:

The petitioner, Bank of Baroda, through counsel Mrs. Revathi Manivannan, sought directions to the Tamil Nadu State Level Scrutiny Committee to consider its representations and determine the community status of certain employees alleged to have used fraudulent certificates. The Bank argued that the delay in disposing of these matters was affecting administrative actions, especially in settling retirement benefits. The respondents, represented by Additional Advocate General Mr. P. Kumaresan and Additional Government Pleader Mr. Vadivelu Deenadayalan, acknowledged the challenges and promised action.

Judgement:

The Court noted that despite the existence of procedures for verifying Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe certificates, the failure to effectively scrutinise and process these had allowed ineligible persons to obtain public employment, often delaying disciplinary proceedings due to pending verifications. Taking a proactive approach, the Court ordered the state to constitute the requisite number of State Level Scrutiny Committees to ensure prompt enquiries and proper scrutiny. It emphasised that the guidelines for certificate issuance and verification must be scrupulously followed and that disciplinary action would be necessary against officers failing in their duties. Moreover, the Court empowered the committees to record and proceed against non-cooperative individuals without delay and added that the government could fix time limits for inquiries. Notably, it suo motu impleaded the Secretary to Government, Adi Dravidar & Tribal Welfare Department, and directed the government to pass necessary orders and constitute additional committees within six weeks.