SC/ST Community Status Of Govt Employee Can Be Verified Post Retirement, Inquiry Must Conclude Within 2 Months: Madras High Court Full Bench

Answering a reference, the full bench of Chief Justice SA Dharmadhikari, Justice K Kumaresh Babu and Justice G Arul Murugan observed that an appointment based on a fraudulent certificate would be invalid from the beginning and retirement would not wash away the same. The court also held that it could not protect the retirement benefits of an employee whose employment was invalid from the beginning.

“Verification into the genuineness of a community certificate or caste status of an employee remains legally permissible even after their retirement from service. Since an appointment obtained by fraud is ab initio void, retirement does not wash away the foundational illegality, and retiral benefits flowing from a void entry cannot be protected,” the court said.

Noting that fraud has no expiry date, the bench held that employees and Scrutiny Committees are empowered to verify the genuineness of caste certificate even when the certificate was issued prior to 1995.

The court also observed that any enquiry that was initiated prior to the retirement of the employee would not lapse upon the superannuation of the employee and such enquiry should be taken to its logical end. The court noted that to hold otherwise would allow dilatory tactics to defeat constitutional accountability.

Noting that the delay in conducting the enquiry is usually taken as a defence by the employee, the court directed the State to immediately fortify State Level Scrutiny Committees and District Level Scrutiny Committees with manpower and anthropological experts. The court said that such strengthening should attempt to eliminate massive systemic backlogs and ensure rigid, strict compliance with the multi-point direction issued by the Supreme Court in Kumari Madhuri Patil Judgment.

The court directed all public employers to initiate and complete verification of community certificate within the initial years of the employee's service, without waiting till the fag end of their career. The court added that if the enquiry was initiated post-retirement, it should be conduct fast-track, on a day-to-day basis and completed within two months to avoid keeping pensionary benefits suspended indefinitely.

The court also directed the State not to accept undertakings from the employees, promising that their progeny would not claim future reservation benefits. The court remarked that allowing such a candidate to retain the benefits stolen from genuine marginalised individuals would be equivalent to allowing a thief to retain the stolen property.

"The State shall not accept simple undertakings, such as promising that the employee's progeny will not claim future reservation benefits, as a mechanism to preserve accrued retiral benefits or insulate careers built on active misrepresentation. Allowing a candidate to retain benefits stolen from genuine marginalized individuals is legally untenable and equivalent to allowing a thief to retain stolen property," the court said.

The court was answering a reference made to decide the following questions:

a) Whether verification into the genuineness of community certificate or caste status of an employee is permissible after retirement from service?

b) Whether verification into the genuineness of community certificate or caste status of an employee is permissible in cases where the employee was issued community certificate or granted employment prior to 1995?

c) Whether verification into the genuineness of community certificate or caste status, which was initiated prior to retirement, could be continued after retirement of the employee?

Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. V. Raghavachari Senior Counsel for Mr. MA. P. Thangavel, Mr. V. Vijay Shankar, Mr. L. Chandrakumar for Mr. Yogesh Kannadasan, Mr. S. Udayakumar

Counsel for Respondent: Mr. Vijay Narayan Advocate-General assisted by Mr. R. Veeramani Government Pleader, Mrs. Sunita Kumari Sr. Panel Counsel, Mr. K. Karthik Jagannath, Mr. P. T. Ram Kumar Standing Counsel, Mr. R. Malaichamy, Mr. Dhruva C.K.V, Mr. K. Ramanamoorthy Sr. Panel Counsel

Case Title: R. Gurusamy v Tamil Nadu State Level Scrutiny Committee and Others

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Mad) 357

Case No: WP No 23827 of 2025 etc.