Bombay High Court Upholds State's Power To Re-Verify Disability Certificates Of Govt Employees; Says Fake Claims Amount To Moral Turpitude

In what could impact thousands of public servants in various departments across Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court has upheld the powers of the State Government to order 're-assessment' and 'verification' of the medical certificates and the Unique Disability ID (UDID) cards.A division bench of Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Abhay Mantri has held that obtaining a government job on the basis of a bogus UDID card, would amount to an 'immoral act' and such an employee can be removed from service on the ground of 'moral turpitude.'It noted that several fraudulent activities of employees in various departments were being noticed especially by those, who were already in service and then claimed to have acquired disability. The judges noted that majority of the employees obtained the benefits under the category of 'hearing impairment' and on being subjected to medical reassessment, 80 per cent of the employees, subjected, were found to be with 0 per cent disability. "When such frauds are noticed in most of the cases post re-verification, it becomes glaring that there surely is a serious problem of bogus UDIDs, who have taken employment on the basis of exaggerated percentages of disabilities or have entered employment as able bodied persons and then acquired disabilities, the most common being 'hearing impairment'. The State Government has noticed this to be deep rooted, in practically every district in the State. With lakhs of employees engaged in Government/Semi-Government/Local Authorities/State Instrumentalities, it is most difficult to pinpoint a particular case of fraud, without a medical re-examination," the bench observed in the May 6 order.The bench noted that the reassessment reports indicated that some of the employees subjected to examination, admitted that they do not have hearing impairment. Some tried to influence or manipulate the authorities and some tried to exert undue pressure and some even threatened the officials of the Institute. Some even tried to dodge the tests."We are of the view that those candidates whose medical certificates or the UDID card suffer from procedural deficiencies or are acquired by nefarious means, would amount to moral turpitude on their part. Acquiring bogus certificates or manipulating authorities to acquire a disability certificate or UDID card so as to facilitate selection or become entitled to certain service PwD benefits, would amount to an immoral act. Moral turpitude is a conduct that is inherently base, vile, depraved, or contrary to accepted moral standards of the society. It implies something done contrary to justice, honesty, modesty, or good morals," the judges held. In the 147-page judgment authored by Justice Ghuge, the bench referred to the orders of the Supreme Court which has described moral turpitude as an act of baseness, vileness, or depravity in the private and social duties which a person owes to fellow human beings or to society in general. If any person has fraudulently obtained a disability certificate, thereby securing public employment otherwise meant for genuine persons with disabilities, and enjoying statutory benefits funded by the public exchequer for years, would squarely fall within the definition of moral turpitude."Misconduct involving moral turpitude can justify dismissal or removal from service even for a first offence. It disentitles an employee from leniency in punishment. The gravity of the misconduct itself warrants the severest punishment. Courts have consistently held that offences such as misappropriation, fraud, fabrication of records, and bribery, fall squarely within the ambit of moral turpitude. Service length, family circumstances, or being on the verge of retirement, are not mitigating factors, when the foundational act of acquiring an appointment is a result of playing a fraud. An employee guilty of moral turpitude cannot claim protection under service rules or equitable doctrines, and compassion has no place where the initial act itself was vile and calculated," the bench remarked. The procurement of bogus disability certificates is not merely a procedural violation, it is an inherently dishonest conduct directed at defrauding the State, depriving genuine persons with disabilities of their rightful entitlements, and enriching oneself through deliberate deception at the expense of a vulnerable class. These persons do not merely commit a procedural irregularity, the bench observed. While agreeing with the submissions of Additional Government Pleader Priyabhushan Kakade, the judges noted that the purpose of the State Policy is to eliminate bogus/non-genuine disability certificates so that genuine persons with disabilities can receive benefits that rightfully accrue to them.AGP Kakade also submitted that those employees who have acquired medical reports with exaggerated disability percentages, have become jittery and are fearful of the possibility of being exposed. He highlighted that the "most sought after" physical...

Bombay High Court Upholds State's Power To Re-Verify Disability Certificates Of Govt Employees; Says Fake Claims Amount To Moral Turpitude

Narsi Benwal

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