Police can’t decide on a person’s suitability for a job, rules Kerala HC

Kochi: High court has held that, while issuing a police verification report for employment purposes, police officers, including those holding senior ranks, have no authority to express an opinion on whether an applicant is suitable for appointment.The court observed that a verification report can only contain details regarding an applicant’s criminal antecedents. The question of whether an applicant is suitable for a post, based on such antecedents, if any, falls exclusively within the employer’s domain. Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas made the observation while allowing a petition by a native of Chirayinkeezhu, Thiruvananthapuram, who challenged a police verification report submitted to his employer on behalf of a district police chief.

The report had stated that the petitioner was not suitable for employment, leading to the initiation of proceedings for termination of his service.According to the petitioner, who claimed to be employed with HLL Lifecare Ltd, police had issued an adverse verification report on the basis of a motorcycle accident case registered in 2025. In the accident, the rider of the vehicle that collided with the petitioner’s motorcycle later succumbed to injuries.

Relying on the adverse report, the employer issued a show-cause notice asking the petitioner to explain why his appointment should not be cancelled, prompting him to approach HC.Allowing the petition, HC reiterated that a police verification report can only contain details of an applicant’s criminal antecedents. It is for the employer to decide whether the existence of any criminal case renders the applicant unsuitable for appointment.The court observed that when an employer seeks information from police regarding the character and antecedents of a person proposed to be appointed or already appointed, the police officer is not expected to express any opinion on that person’s suitability for employment. Referring to Column 6 of the prescribed verification form, which requires the police to indicate the suitability of an applicant, HC held that the provision is legally unsustainable.

“In fact, the govt would do well to delete Column 6 from the format prescribed for issuing verification reports,” it remarked.HC further directed that the adverse observation regarding the petitioner’s suitability for employment shall not be used against him.