Fraudulent Practice To Gain Public Employment Cannot Be Countenanced
Case: Employers In Relation To The Management Of Bhalgora Area (Now Kustore Area) Of M/S Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. Appellant(S) Versus Workmen Being Represented By Janta Mazdoor Sangh
Coram: Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy
Case No: Arising out of SLP (C) No.29873 OF 2016
Court Observation: “14. The learned Single Judge should not have been overruled by the impugned judgment by ignoring the key fact that the appointees did not figure in either of the lists, sponsored by the jurisdictional Employment Exchange and that they were beneficiaries of a fraudulent process. Enough materials were presented to the Tribunal to justify the action against the illegally appointed workmen, and as such the appellants cannot be made to suffer the consequence of the misconduct of their two errant employees against whom, disciplinary actions were taken by the Management. Moreover, the contradictory stand of the workmen at different stages would suggest that they were conscious and of being appointed through a non-bonafide process. In any case, the appointments were contrary to the requirements of the 1959 Act”
“17. Fraudulent practice to gain public employment cannot be countenanced to be permitted by a Court of law. The workmen here, having hoodwinked the Government Undertaking in a fraudulent manner, must be prevented from enjoying the fruits of their ill-gotten advantage. The sanctity of public employment, as a measure of social welfare and a significant source of social mobility, must be protected against such fraudulent process which manipulates and corrupts the selection process. Employment schemes floated by the State for targeted groups can absorb a finite number of workmen.
To abuse, the legitimate process therefore would mean deprivation of employment benefits to rightful beneficiaries. The Courts as the sentinel of justice must strive to ensure that such employment programmes are not manipulated by deceitful middlemen, thereby setting up a parallel mechanism of Faustian Bargain. Often, desperate job aspirants’ resort to such measures to compete for limited vacancies, but this Court cannot condone false projections so as to circumvent the statutorily prescribed procedure for appointments. Such illegal practices must be interdicted by the Courts.”
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