Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The Assam Government has revised the procedure for the verification of character and antecedents of individuals selected for appointment to government service, allowing provisional appointments before the completion of police verification under certain conditions.
The revised procedure was communicated in an executive order issued by the Personnel Department in pursuance of the Supreme Court judgement dated December 5, 2024, in a civil appeal. The executive order stated that it supersedes its earlier office memorandum of November 18, 2021.
Under the new procedure, appointing authorities will ask selected candidates to submit a notarised affidavit in the prescribed format regarding their character and antecedents. At the same time, the authorities will request the relevant police authority to conduct verification and submit a Police Verification Report. The Police Verification Report must be submitted to the appointing authority within a fixed period, not exceeding six months from the date of appointment.
The notarised affidavit must be uploaded to the official portal of the appointing authority and will also be made available under the Right to Information Act, 2005, if required.
To accelerate the process, appointing authorities have been directed to provide all relevant documents, including the active mobile phone numbers of selected candidates, to the police authorities.
The government has also introduced a system for provisional appointments to avoid delays. If the appointing authority receives the notarised affidavit and is satisfied that the candidate's character and antecedents make him or her suitable for the post, the candidate may be provisionally appointed pending police verification.
Once the police verification confirms the candidate's credentials, the appointment process will be treated as complete, and the appointment will be regularised.
However, the government has warned that if an adverse police report or subsequent information contradicts the declaration made in the affidavit, the candidate's appointment will be cancelled and the person removed from service. Candidates found to have submitted false affidavits may also face legal action, the order stated.
The revised instructions will be applicable with immediate effect, the order also said.
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