Uttar Pradesh Revises Government Job Verification Rules, Says Political Beliefs Alone Cannot Disqualify Applicants

The Uttar Pradesh government has outlined a new policy which lays out offences from murder to association with groups that resort to violence to change the ‘established system' which can lead to disqualification of candidates from government posts.

The policy replaces the orders issued since 1958, and provides uniform guidelines for checking the antecedents of candidates, a government order issued by principal secretary (appointments) M Devraj on Wednesday said. It states that political ideology alone cannot be grounds for denying employment.

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“Political ideology will not be a basis for disqualification”

The political ideology will not be a basis for disqualification for anyone “[those] connected with groups whose objective is to bring about a change in the existing by means of force will be deemed ineligible”.

The policy defines the offences that will make a candidate unsuitable for public employment, including rape, kidnapping, human trafficking, terrorism, and cybercrime and document forgery. It also applies to offences under certain special legislations, such as the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, Prevention of Corruption Act, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The revised policy comes on the heels of Allahabad High Court instructions in two cases regarding the antecedent verification which stated that the state should now draft guidelines in accordance with the guidelines issued by the CRPF on February 1, 2012.

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The previous one was a 1958 order on character verification and an order issued in 1978, 1985 and 2013 setting the timelines for the process. In 2021, another order allowed for provisional appointments to be issued following the submission of candidates' verification documents and declarations. The new policy consolidates these provisions, sets out the criteria for disqualification and rationalises checks carried out in relation to recruitment.

If a competent court has not framed charges, an FIR, a complaint or an ongoing investigation or chargesheet will not, by itself, be enough grounds for disqualification, it says, except for certain offences. There are also some exceptions to this, for example cases of final acquittal or discharge, government withdrawal, quashing at High Court or Supreme Court and some minor offences.

No new character verifications will be required for existing state government employees, but they may be requested from the other parent departments, it said.

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