Pleas of GSECL staff to retain jobs after invalid caste certificates junked
The petitioners argued that they had served as Vidyut Sahayaks for 15 years and requested not to be terminated, but to instead be accommodated in the general category. They were originally appointed under the Socially and Economically Backward Class (SEBC) category, claiming to belong to the Sindha community. However, their services were terminated after a scrutiny committee found their SEBC certificates to be invalid.
While dismissing the petition, Justice Sandeep Bhatt stated, "The petitioners are continued on the posts on which they were appointed on the basis of the caste certificates, which were held to be illegal by the scrutiny committee, because of which, the rights of the genuinely deserving persons of the said community were infringed. The persons who are possessing genuine caste certificates have been waiting for their turn to be appointed but due to the petitioners, whose caste certificates are held illegal, being continued, they could not be given a chance to be appointed i.e.
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The high court did not find any illegality or arbitrariness in the govt's decision to terminate the petitioners' services. Notably, the petitioners' SEBC caste certificates were found invalid as early as 2012—two years after they joined service.
There were multiple rounds of litigation, up to the Supreme Court. During the pendency of these legal proceedings, the petitioners were allowed to continue in their jobs.
At one stage, a division bench of the high court suggested the govt consider accommodating them under the general category, but the administration found this unfeasible. The employees then filed a fresh petition earlier this year seeking continuation of service.
In this regard, Justice Bhatt observed, "This plea is not available to the petitioners, as—actually speaking—deducting the period of litigation, they effectively worked only two years. For the rest of the years, they have been working on sympathy only."
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