SARBJEET SINGH Vs. SATISH KATYAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner feeling aggrieved of termination order issued by the Regional Manager, Oriental Insurance Company Limited dated 22.09.2019 whereby services of the petitioner as 'Assistant' in the Company have been terminated on the ground that the OBC certificate submitted by the petitioner at the time of his recruitment was invalid. The petitioner also seeks a direction to the respondents to allow him to continue to perform his duties as 'Assistant' in the Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. (for short 'the Company').

(2.) The facts relevant to the disposal of this petition may be noticed first. The Company is a Government of India Undertaking fully controlled and funded by the Government of India and, therefore, State within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India. Advertisement Notification was issued by the Company on 03.06.2015, inviting applications for supplying of 606 vacancies of 'Assistant' available in different State of the Country. 07 vacancies of the 'Assistant' were notified in the State of Jammu and Kashmir with the following break up:-

(3.) Apart from other terms and conditions of the Advertisement, it was specifically provided that there was no bar for reserved category candidates to compete against the unreserved posts provided they were eligible as unreserved category candidate as per the eligibility provided in the Advertisement Notification. Clause 9 of the Notification further provided that the caste certificate should be issued by the competent authority in the prescribed format as stipulated by the Govt. of India in the case of SC, ST and OBC category candidates and the same would be submitted by the candidate at the time of interview. The petitioner claimably eligible to apply under the OSC/OBC category responded to the Advertisement Notification. The petitioner applied for issuance of OBC category certificate to the competent authority, i.e., Tehsildar R.S.Pura both under the format prescribed under State Rule as also as per the format prescribed by the Central Government. Last date for submission of application form was 28.07.2015. The candidature of the petitioner was considered under OBC category and he was permitted to participate in all the stages of the selection, which ultimately culminated in issuance of the order of appointment of the petitioner as 'Assistant' under OBC category. The petitioner was conveyed that he has been selected for appointment to the post of 'Assistant' in the Company by the Regional Manager of the Company vide letter of appointment dated 30.11.2016. With regard to the petitioner, a candidate claimably belonging to OBC category, it was in the order of appointment itself stipulated that the appointment offer was provisional and subject to verification of his category certificate through proper channel. The petitioner was further intimated that, if the verification revealed that the claim of the petitioner as a member of the OBC was false, his services would be terminated forthwith without assigning any further reasons and without prejudice to such further action as may be taken under the provisions of Indian Penal Code for production of false certificate (refer clause 21(b) of the order of appointment)