Coming down on an ex-councillor's wife for impersonating another woman and securing a job as a Class IV employee in Pollachi Municipality, the Madras High Court today directed the authorities concerned to immediately provide suitable employment to the victim.
A division bench, comprising Justice R Sudhakar and Justice S Vaidyanathan, said this while dismissing an appeal by the impersonator, P Parvathy of Pollachi district, against a single judge's order, directing the authorities to take action against her and to provide a suitable job to the victim.
Aggrieved by the order, she filed the present appeal.
The victim, R Parvathi, had moved court in2006 seeking a direction to the Commissioner, Pollachi Municipality, not to allow the appellant, wife of en ex-councillor, from impersonating her in the post of a Class IV woman employee.
She had also sought a direction to the authorities to take action against the former councillor's wife for impersonating her and a subsequent direction to permit her discharge duties as Class IV woman employee with Pollachi Municipality.
The single judge found there was impersonation and directed the authorities to take suitable action.
R Parvathi submitted she had registered at the Employment Exchange at Thudiyalur Coimbatore District on June 14, 2003. The Employment Exchange had periodically registered her employment. She was called for an interview on October 26, 1990, which she attended.
She submitted P Parvathy was not called for interview.
As she was not served with an appointment order, she was under the impression she was not selected. When she went to the Employment Exchange in the last week of June, 1993 to renew her employment card, she was told it could not be done as she had already been appointed in office of the Commissioner, Pollachi Municipality.
She said she approached the Municipality Commissioner and enquired about the selection, but was allegedly not given a reply. On enquiry, she came to know they had appointed P Parvathy and allowed her to do duty in Class IV service.
She submitted she also came to know that P Parvathy through her husband, a Councillor in the relevant period, had fraudulently secured the appointment order.
The Bench said a perusal of the impersonator's Service Register showed her birth date was erased and altered as July 1 1961, based on the Medical Certificate. But the October 1, 1990 nomination letter by the Exchange showed she born in 1960.
Also, candidatures of some others were rejected for non production of age proof. Though she did not do so, the Municipality has scored off the 'Certificate not produced' entry and got a Medical Certificate later to show she was within the prescribed age limit.
The bench said impersonation is a crime and whoever the offenders are, they must not be left unpunished. "The Department/Municipality is entitled to recover the amount from the impersonator. An impersonator cannot claim wages on such alleged act," it said and dismissed the appeal.
