Constitutional post appointees in Haryana to give undertaking

The Haryana government today decided that the appointees to the various constitutional and statutory positions in the state would have to submit an undertaking that no criminal case is pending against them.
The move follows the conviction and sentencing of Haryana Public Service Commission member Harinder Pal Singh, who was recently awarded a jail term in an attempt to murder case.
Such appointees will also have to submit an undertaking that no chargesheet has been filed against him/her in any competent court relating to any crime and he/she has not been convicted for any offence by any competent court, Chief Secretary S C Choudhary said here today.

The undertaking has to be submitted before joining on these posts, he said.
All administrative secretaries have been told to insert columns in the application forms for such posts where the applicants will be asked about these details.
In case any criminal case has been registered against an applicant or the applicant has been chargesheeted for any criminal offence or an applicant has been convicted by any competent court for any criminal offence, he/she will have to furnish the complete details, he said.

The decision has been taken to ensure that the appointed persons have the highest degree of merit and integrity, he said.

After the sentencing of Harinder Pal Singh last year, Opposition parties had slammed the Hooda government for allegedly having failed to verify Singh's background before appointing him to a constitutional post. Singh subsequently resigned from his post.
Singh was convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment in an attempt-to-murder case by a Palwal court recently.