A report obtained through the RTI Act by a reputable News agency revealed that between 2010 and 2019, the Union government had received 1,084 complaints about people using fake caste certificates to get government jobs. The report further divulged that as many as 92 public servants were fired for using these fraudulent certificates.
Of the institutions that dealt with fake certificates, the Indian Railways had the most complaints, with 349 cases. The Department of Posts followed with 259 complaints, then the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways with 202, and the Department of Food and Public Distribution with 138. The issue of ‘fake certificates’ made it to the headlines after ex-IAS Puja Khedkar’s shenanigans where it was found that she faked her identity to take the civil services exam more times than allowed.
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has stated that it has instructed State and Union Territory governments to verify caste certificates promptly and stressed that it is up to these governments to issue and check these certificates. The government’s reservation policy includes quotas for different groups: 15% for Scheduled Castes, 7.5% for Scheduled Tribes, 27% for Other Backward Classes, 10% for the Economically Weaker Section, and 3% for people with disabilities. According to a 1993 order, anyone found using fake information or certificates to get a job should be dismissed from service.
