India

Uttar Pradesh Tightens Eligibility Rules for Government Jobs After Youth Protests

By Anjali Thakur

The Uttar Pradesh government, headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has introduced new character‑verification guidelines for government job applicants. The updated rules disqualify individuals who are members of any organisation that seeks to alter the existing social order through violent means. The changes were announced on Wednesday by Principal Secretary (Appointment & Personnel) M. Devaraj and were reportedly prompted by youth protests in several states, including those led by the Cockroach Janata Party.

Under the new policy, participation in such activities after the age of 21 and within three years of the inquiry will be treated as evidence of ongoing involvement, unless the applicant can prove a change in attitude. The guidelines clarify that political views alone will not render a person unfit for appointment.

The government said the revised system will eliminate the need for candidates to wait for character‑verification reports before joining service. A unified policy for character and antecedent verification will simplify recruitment and ensure timely appointments. Candidates may receive provisional appointment letters while police verification is underway, with final confirmation once the report is satisfactory. Detailed verification will still be required for sensitive and security‑related positions.

Police and relevant officials are directed to submit verification reports within 30 days. The 21‑page guidelines also state that a registered FIR or pending investigation does not automatically disqualify an applicant.

The new rules apply to direct recruitment across all government departments, corporations, councils, educational institutions, autonomous bodies, public sector undertakings, panchayats and local bodies. Ongoing recruitment cases will also be processed under the updated guidelines.

The appointing authority will forward candidate details to the Director General of Police (Intelligence), the district magistrate of the candidate’s home district, and district magistrates of any district where the applicant has lived for more than a year in the preceding five years. District magistrates will obtain reports from the respective district police chiefs before forwarding findings to the appointing authority. Routine cases will use existing police and local intelligence records; candidates will not need to appear physically unless field verification is ordered.

If a police verification report is adverse, the district magistrate will give the candidate an opportunity to present their case before a decision is taken. For applicants who have lived in another state for the prescribed period, the police chief of that state or Union Territory may also be consulted.

Applicants must declare in their application forms and self‑declaration affidavits whether they have ever been arrested, prosecuted or convicted by a court of law. They must also disclose any dismissal from previous government service or any ban imposed by a recruitment commission for using unfair means. Concealment of information could lead to cancellation of an appointment, although a candidature will not be cancelled solely because an arrest or criminal case was omitted if it is later disclosed in writing during a medical examination, certification, verification or through a self‑declaration form.

Existing government employees will not be required to undergo character verification again, though information may be sought from their previous departments if necessary.

Under the revised policy, candidates against whom charges have been framed in cases involving murder, rioting, sedition, kidnapping for ransom, rape, dowry death, or offences under the POCSO Act will be ineligible for government jobs. Those convicted in such cases will also be barred. Individuals involved in examination‑related malpractice, including operating cheating rackets, leaking question papers, running solver gangs, impersonating candidates or obtaining fake certificates, will be disqualified. The policy also covers cybercrimes such as digital arrest fraud and scams conducted through digital payment platforms. Candidates facing cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Prevention of Money Laundering Act, or the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti‑Spatial Activities (Prevention) Act will also be considered ineligible.