Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government has tightened the character verification regime for government job recruitment in Uttar Pradesh, making ineligible any person who is a member of ‘any organisation whose resolved object is to alter the existing order of society by violent means’. The move, it is learnt, was prompted by youth protests in several states, particularly the one with Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at the forefront.
The revised guidelines were issued Wednesday by Principal Secretary (Appointment & Personnel) M. Devaraj.
Under the new policy, participation in ‘any such activity’ after attaining the age of 21, and within three years from the date of inquiry, shall be taken as proof that the person is still actively engaged in ‘such activities’, unless there is concrete evidence of a ‘change in attitude’ within such a period of time.
The policy does, however, specify that no person shall be deemed unfit for appointment merely on account of political views.
In a press statement Thursday, the UP government defended the new guidelines, saying that recruits will no longer have to wait for a character verification report before joining.
According to it, a new unified policy for character and antecedent verification will simplify the recruitment process and ensure timely appointments. The guidelines also allow for provisional appointment letters to be issued to select candidates even while police verification is still underway. Their appointments will be confirmed once the verification report is found to be satisfactory, the statement added.
However, detailed verification will be mandatory before appointments to sensitive or security-related posts.
The government specified that the police and officials concerned will have to submit the verification report within 30 days. The move is expected to prevent unnecessary delays in the appointment process and spare candidates from repeated visits to police stations and government offices, the government said.
In the 21-page guidelines released Wednesday, and accessed by ThePrint, the UP government had clarified that the mere registration of an FIR or a pending investigation will not automatically disqualify a candidate. The new policy will apply to direct recruitment across government departments, corporations, councils, educational institutions, autonomous bodies, public sector undertakings, panchayats and local bodies.
Cases already pending will also be processed under the revised guidelines.
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Under the prescribed procedure, the appointing authority will forward the candidate’s details to the Director General of Police (Intelligence), district magistrate of the candidate’s home district and district magistrates of places where the candidate has lived for more than a year over the past five years.
District magistrates will obtain reports from the respective district police chiefs before forwarding their findings to the appointing authority.
In routine cases, the police and local intelligence units will conduct verification based on their existing records, without requiring the candidate’s physical presence, questioning or additional documents. Field verification may be ordered in specific cases at the direction of the appointing authority.
If a police report is adverse, the district magistrate will give the candidate an opportunity to present their case.
For candidates who have lived in another state for the prescribed period, the police chief of the concerned state or Union Territory may also be consulted.
Candidates must disclose criminal history
The revised guidelines also mentioned that applicants will have to declare in their application forms and self-declaration affidavits whether they have ever been arrested, prosecuted or convicted by a court of law.
They must also disclose details of any dismissal from previous government service and any ban imposed by a recruitment commission or board for using unfair means.
Concealment of information could lead to the cancellation of an appointment. However, a candidature will not be cancelled solely because a candidate failed to mention an arrest or criminal case in the application if they subsequently disclose it in writing during a medical examination, certification, verification or through a self-declaration form.
The guidelines also mention that existing government employees will not be required to undergo character verification again, but information may be sought from their previous departments if needed.
Candidates against whom charges have been framed in cases involving murder, rioting, sedition, kidnapping for ransom, rape, dowry death and offences under the POCSO Act, or who have been convicted in such cases, will be ineligible for government jobs.
Under the revised policy, individuals involved in exam-related malpractice, including operating cheating rackets, leaking question papers, running solver gangs, impersonating candidates and obtaining fake certificates will not be eligible for government jobs.
Those involved in cybercrimes, including digital arrest fraud and scams conducted through digital payments platforms will also come under the ambit of the rules.
Candidates facing cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Prevention of Money Laundering Act, or Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Spatial Activities (Prevention) Act will also be considered ineligible under the policy.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)