REGIONAL MANAGER, CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA versus MADHULIKA GURUPRASAD DAHIR AND ORS.

Citation: [2008] 11 S.C.R. 319 · Decided: 25-07-2008 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: C.K. THAKKER · Disposal: Case Allowed

Cited by 1 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

[2008) 11 S.C.R. 319 
... 
REGIONAL MANAGER, CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA 
A 
v. 
MADHULIKA GURUPRASAD DAHIR AND ORS. 
(Civil Appeal No.4636 of 2008) 
JULY 25, 2008 
B 
[C.K. THAKKER AND D.K. JAIN, JJ.] 
Service Law - Termination - For usurping post reserved 
for Scheduled Tribe candidate by producing false caste cer-
tificate - Justification of - On facts, held: Justified - The ter- c 
minated employee cannot plead equity nor the Court would 
be justified to exercise equity jurisdiction in favour of such 
terminated employee merely because she had worked on the 
post for over twenty years - The fact that caste certificate of the 
terminated employee was referred to the Scrutiny Committee D 
for verification after ten years of her joining the service and a 
-
~ 
long time was taken by the Scrutiny Committee to verify the 
same was inconsequential inasmuch as delay on both the 
counts did not validate the caste certificate and the conse-
quent illegal appointment - Equity jurisdiction - Non-exer-
E 
cise of 
Fraud - Held: Is anathema to all equitable principles -
Any affair tainted with fraud cannot be perpetuated or saved 
by application of any equitable doctrine. 
The First Respondent claimed to be belonging to 
F 
"Thakur Scheduled Tribe" and got employment in Appel-
lant-public sector bank, in 1981 against a post reserved 
for "Scheduled Tribes", on the basis of a caste certificate 
issued to her in 1979. Pursuant to instructions issued by 
-
the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department G 
of Economic Affairs in 1990, directing all the public sec-
"- _. 
tor banks/financial institutions to get the caste certificates 
of the existing employees, belonging to various sched-
uled tribes, verified, the caste certificate filed by First Re-
319 
H 
320 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2008] 11 S.C.R. 
A spondent was referred to Committee for Scrutiny and Veri-
fication of Tribe Claims (Respondent No.2). The Scrutiny 
Committee rejected the caste claim of First Respondent 
and cancelled the caste certificate issued to her in 1979 
Consequently, the services of First Respondent were ter-
B minated by Appellant on the ground that her caste claim 
had been invalidated. First Respondent did not challenge 
the correctness of the order of the Scrutiny Committee, 
and the same attained finality. She however challenged 
the order of termination on the ground of inordinate de-
e lay of more than 10 years in making a reference to the 
Scrutiny Committee for verification of the caste certificate. 
While upholding the order of the Scrutiny Committee in" 
validating the caste certificate, the High Court observed 
that since the service of the First Respondent was termi-
D nated after a period of twenty two years on the basis that 
she did not belong to the Scheduled Tribe and she hav-
ing herself given up the claim of belonging to the Sched-
uled Tribe, the interest of justice demanded that she be 
continued in service. Accordingly, the High Court 
quashed the order of termination and directed reinstate-
E ment of First Respondent with continuity in service but 
without back-wages. 
In appeal to this Court, the questions, which arose 
for consideration were: (i) whether delay in making refer-
F ence to the Scrutiny Committee for ver~~i\:-.ation of the 
caste certificate as also the delay on th~ part of the Scru-
tiny Committee in such verification per se vitiates the or-
der of termination of services of c,tn employee, even when 
.. 
the certificate is ultimately found to be false and (ii) 
G whether because of the employee having rendered ser-
vices to the employer for over twenty years, would it be 
equitable to cancel her appointment, when admittedly in 
the first instance the employee was not eligible for such 
appointment. 
· 
H 
Allowing the appeal, the Court 
REGIONAL MANAGER, CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA v. 321 
MADHULIKA GURUPRASAD DAHIR & ORS . 
... 
HELD:1.1. Except in a few decisions, where the ad-
A 
mission I appointment was not cancelled because of pe-
culiar factual matrix obtaining therein, the consensus of 
judicial opinion is that equity, sympathy or generosity has 
no place where the original appointment rests on a false 
caste certificate. A person who enters the service by pro-
B 
·-' 
ducing a false caste certificate and obtains appointment 
for the post meant for a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled 
Tribe or· CBC, as the case may be, deprives a genuine 
candidate falling in either of the said categories, of ap-
pointment to t

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