Forest Dept. Invalidated Experience Certificate due to Belated Regn. of Company: Chhattisgarh HC Holds GST Regn. Proves Employer’s Validity [Read Order]

The High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur recently set aside a decision by the Forest Department to invalidate the recruitment candidature of a driver on the grounds that the experience certificate produced by the driver was issued by a company that was not registered with the District Industries Centre (DIC) at the time of issuance after noting that they had secured their Goods and Services Tax (GST) at a much earlier date.

The petitioner, Shyam Sundar Sahu had applied for the post of Driver of Heavy Vehicle in response to an advertisement issued by the Forest Department. The recruiter required candidates to have a minimum of two years’ work experience along with a valid driving licence.

The petitioner submitted a certificate issued by M/s Radhe Rice Mill covering the period from 2 January 2020 to 1 March 2023 to prove his experience. Though the petitioner qualified in the written examination and was placed at serial number 5 in the published results, his candidature was invalidated on the ground that Radhe Rice Mill was registered with the DIC only on 19 March 2020, making the experience certificate from January 2020 unacceptable.

Ravi Kumar Bhagat, appearing for the petitioner, argued that Radhe Rice Mill had secured their GST registration as early as 18 June 2019 and was officially registered on 25 December 2019, thus establishing its existence prior to their DIC registration.

The State, represented by Panel Lawyer Sabyasachi Choubey, maintained that the experience certificate was invalidated on the basis of an investigation done by the Divisional Forest Officer.

The Bench of Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas noted that the reasoning adduced by the Forest Department was “purely imaginary and without any foundation.” The High Court observed that Radhe Rice Mill had obtained their GST registration in 2019, well before the DIC registration in March 2020.

The single-bench opined that such establishments typically require workforce support during construction and installation of machinery even before the formal commencement of their operations - here, the GST registration having been taken in 2019 while operations began only in 2021.

Considering the facts and circumstances, the Chhattisgarh High Court held that the experience certificate could not be treated as invalid and set aside the Forest Department’s order dated 19 June 2025, directing that the petitioner’s candidature be considered along with other eligible candidates strictly in accordance with law.

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