Supreme Court Relief for Mumbai Engineer: BMC Employee Retains Pension After 30 Years of Service on Fake ST Certificate
_1384805989.jpg)
In a significant legal ruling regarding employment disputes and fraudulent caste credentials, the Supreme Court of India has granted major relief to Shirish P. Patil, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC/MCGM) engineer. Despite securing his junior civil engineer position through a Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate that was later proven invalid, the apex court permitted him to retain his full retirement benefits and pension following a career spanning over three decades.
Decades-Long Legal Battle Over the Tokare Koli Certificate
The roots of the controversy trace back to 1984, when Shirish P. Patil initially obtained a certificate claiming membership in the Tokare Koli community, recognized as a Scheduled Tribe. Leveraging this document, he successfully secured an appointment as a junior civil engineer at the MCGM in 1994. Years later, in 2000, he acquired a replacement certificate from the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Bhusawal under the pretext of losing the original. However, administrative scrutiny eventually caught up with his paperwork when municipal authorities initiated an official probe into his social status.
Investigation and High Court Verdict Leading to Retirement
An exhaustive investigation by the MCGM revealed that Patil's ancestral records pointed toward the 'Koli', 'Hindu Koli', and 'Hindu Suryavanshi Koli' categories—none of which fall under the protected ST umbrella. Although a show-cause notice was issued in July 2009, Patil managed to prolong the inquiry proceedings for over a decade by citing personal and legal unavailability. The scrutiny committee ultimately invalidated his certificate in January 2020, a ruling subsequently upheld by the Bombay High Court. Despite the legal setbacks, Patil continued active service until his official retirement on June 30, 2025, having completed more than 30 years in the municipal corporation. When the matter reached the Supreme Court, the bench factored in his extensive tenure and overall service history, opting to order his honorable retirement with full pension privileges rather than enforcing a punitive dismissal.
_1817986334_351x234.jpg)
_851062429_351x234.jpg)
_1275244617_351x234.jpg)
_1421056556_351x234.jpg)
