LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has introduced a new recruitment policy that both speeds up appointments and tightens scrutiny of candidates linked to violent activities. Under the revised rules, selected candidates can receive appointment letters before completion of police verification, ending a practice that often delayed joining.The policy, issued by the appointments department, states that anyone associated with an organisation whose declared objective is to alter the existing social order through violence will be ineligible for government service. At the same time, it clarifies that political ideology or affiliation alone cannot be grounds for denying a job.Selected candidates will be allowed to join after submitting prescribed verification forms and self-declarations.Sensitive posts to continue requiring full verificationTheir appointments will be confirmed once character and antecedent verification reports are received. However, posts involving security and other sensitive responsibilities will continue to require full verification before appointment.Police and intelligence agencies have been directed to submit verification reports within 30 days. If reports are delayed, the matter will be referred to the home department for follow-up action.The order further states that participation in any violent activity after the age of 21, or within three years preceding antecedent verification for government employment, will be treated as evidence of active involvement in such activities.The new rules apply to direct recruitment in government departments, state corporations, boards, educational institutions, autonomous bodies, public sector undertakings, panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies.Candidates will be required to disclose any arrest, prosecution, conviction, pending FIR, chargesheet, preventive detention, dismissal from service or debarment by a recruitment agency. Concealment or misrepresentation of facts may lead to cancellation of appointment and debarment from government service.In a major relief for applicants, police verification will largely be records-based. Candidates will generally not be called for questioning, asked to furnish additional documents or subjected to door-to-door inquiries, except in exceptional cases warranting field verification.The government has also made it clear that the mere registration of an FIR, a pending investigation or filing of a chargesheet will not automatically disqualify a candidate. Eligibility will be determined on the basis of the nature of the offence and the stage of the case. While certain serious offences may attract disqualification once charges are framed, in other cases conviction will be necessary.Candidates who have been acquitted, discharged or involved in legally compounded minor offences may receive relief under the new framework. Those facing adverse police or intelligence reports will be given an opportunity to present their side, including through online hearings, before a final decision is taken.The policy will apply prospectively and will not affect existing government employees.
