Supreme Court Allows Retirement Benefits to Engineer with Forged Caste Certificate
In a surprising decision, the Supreme Court has permitted a civil engineer from Mumbai to retire with benefits, despite his history of using a forged Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate for employment. Shirish P Patil was appointed as a junior civil engineer at the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) in 1994 by claiming he belonged to the ‘Tokre Koli’ Scheduled Tribe.
Patil first obtained his ST certificate in 1984. However, after losing the original, he managed to secure a replacement in 2000 from the sub-divisional magistrate. Over the years, MCGM began an inquiry into his eligibility for the ST quota, during which the Police Vigilance Cell discovered that records indicated his ancestors were associated with the ‘Koli’ category, which does not qualify as an ST.
In 2009, MCGM issued a notice to Patil related to the status of his ST certificate. He was able to postpone the proceedings until early 2020, when the scrutiny committee ultimately rejected his claims and canceled his ST certificate. Patil’s appeal to the High Court against this cancellation was dismissed.
Despite this, the Supreme Court intervened in November 2021 to temporarily halt his dismissal so that he could continue working. Now, with over three decades of service attributed to a fraudulent certificate, Patil is set to retire on June 30, 2025.
A bench made up of Justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M Pancholi affirmed the cancellation of Patil’s ST certificate and supported the High Court’s previous decision. However, they showed leniency by considering Patil’s promise that he and his family would not seek further benefits based on the invalidated certificate.
This decision marks a notable departure from the Court’s usual strict stance against individuals who use forged SC or ST certificates for employment or educational advantages.
