Can a person retain a public post obtained by fraud?

No. Fraud and justice never dwell together, and the law does not permit a person to retain an advantage obtained by practising fraud or misrepresentation. Fraud vitiates every solemn act, so a person who secures public employment by practising fraud cannot seek the protection of the law to retain that appointment, which is void ab initio.

Public employment — Priority quota for persons with disabilities — Fake disability certificate — Fraud — Appointment void ab initio — Disciplinary enquiry — Public employment — Character of an appointment — Whole recruitment process examined — Held: The nature of an appointment is not determined solely by the words of the appointment order; the court may examine the requisition, the category under which the candidate was sponsored and the records accompanying that sponsorship to ascertain its true character. (¶16) Public employment — Fraud — Appointment void ab initio — Held further: Fraud and justice never dwell together: an appointment obtained by practising fraud upon the public exchequer is void ab initio, and a person who secures public employment by fraud cannot invoke the law to retain it. (¶20, ¶21) Reservation — Priority quota — Injury to the reserved class and to other priority groups — Held further: One who takes a post reserved for persons with disabilities without being disabled defrauds not only the Government but the disabled and the other priority categories deprived of their turn. (¶19, ¶21) Disciplinary enquiry — Later medical finding ignored — Enquiry report set aside — Held further: Delay explained by medical examination and pending criminal proceedings is no ground to quash; but an enquiry resting on an earlier report while ignoring a later Medical Board finding cannot stand. Petitions dismissed, one allowed. (¶23, ¶27)

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