In one of the first incidents, a man who was earlier declined a job offer due to fake cases against him is reinstated by an Indian IT giant. The man who recently got a new job offer from a reputed company, later lost it because he didn’t inform the company about matrimonial cases filed against him. The company found out the cases before his joining and declined their offer just before his joining on the joining date. As a result, he became jobless instantly.

This case came to me at a later stage when the man was declined the offer by the company. Helpless, he didn’t know what to do. As a standard best practice, we advise all males to clearly state about fake cases against them to any company prior to joining. However, in this case, he was not sure what needed to be done. The question related to court cases against him was also dubious. The company asked, “would you like to disclose any criminal cases against you?” As this sounded like he had an option of not disclosing the cases against him, he answered in negative.

He was subsequently selected by the organization and as a result, he resigned from his previous company. But on the day of joining, the new company informed him that his offer was withdrawn as during the background verification (BGV) process, the company found out that he had cases against him. The offer was withdrawn for concealing facts from the company.

He tried to explain his position to the HR and to the business, but of no avail. The HR was visibly upset on his concealing this vital information and was rather angry on him. He also contacted business contacts for giving him an opportunity to explain his situation but was not responded to.

He contacted me at this point when he didn’t find any other way out of this situation. His letter to the business was seen by the HR as an escalation against HR and that led to more complication.

Initially, when he contacted me, I was not sure if I could help him in any manner as I knew that the background verification process in these companies were very strong. He was later surprised to know that HR was aware of next dates of all his cases some of which even he was not aware of. He realized how strong is the BGV process in a company after that.

Since, his earlier plea went in vain, initially, I didn’t give him any assurance. Instead told him to try to find a new job as hiding information from a company is not good. This holds true not only when you are joining a new company, but also when in your own company you are joining a new project where you have background verification. If you hide such information, that may lead to disciplinary action leading to your termination.

However, soon his plea seemed to have started working and the company wanted to give him a chance to explain. When he again came back to me informing about the new developments, I had no other option but to seal the deal for him.

So, I understood the case from the beginning and then took it forward in a well-planned manner. As a result, after trying for another one week the company finally decided to give him the offer. I was also happy to note that the company offered him the same salary negotiated during interviews and didn’t reduce anything to take a chance of his situation.

I will not be able to share more details of the case for confidentiality reasons, but here are some best practices that you need to remember in such cases –

1. When joining any new company or new project in your organization, always reveal criminal cases against you if they ask you in any manner. No matter how they ask, you are supposed to reveal the information. This holds true even if you have a rape case against you (very normal nowadays).
2. If you get rejected due to fake cases don’t lose hope. Try to peacefully handle the situation. Call up responsible persons and try to explain your situation to them. You may not get this opportunity while filling up company/project induction form. You need to handle this situation through telephonic conversation only.
3. If the company/persons do not pick up your phone, have patience and wait for some time (1/2 days) before sending any email. This time is given to see if they come back to you and considering the point that they might be busy on those occasions. Remember, handling these matters over phone calls is best rather than on emails.
4. When you do need to send emails, don’t send mass emails to all concerned. Send separate emails to different individuals, pleading them for a chance to explain your position.
5. Never ever sound negative in your emails. You need to draft these emails carefully in a professional manner so that they become interested in listening to you or giving you a chance. Always ask for a telephonic conversation to clarify rather than email clarification.
6. If the company specifically asks for email clarification, only then you should send any email clarification to them.
7. While sending email clarification, don’t get too emotional or don’t try to prove yourself innocent or your wife a witch. Companies really don’t care if you are guilty or if she is a witch. So, only write the information that the company has asked for.
8. Don’t ever talk too much about how you attend all case dates and very law-abiding persons etc. This may be seen as a potential blocker of your productivity and you may not be taken back. You need to handle these situations carefully and give only measured responses so that not to create suspicion of your absence from work due to court dates.
9. When the company gives you one chance and wants an email clarification, don’t hurry too much to give a reply. You may make mistakes or get carried away by your emotions while replying. It’s better to hold on and delay your response.
10. Last but not the least, always take an expert MRA help who can critically review your email and make changes. This person should not be emotionally attached to you (like your brother, parents etc.). A completely unrelated person is best for help as he will not have any emotional attachment to your case.

Last few words

It is the need of the hour that all companies understand that fake cases have become a reality in India today. With increasing divorce cases and marital rape on the anvil, soon many men will get rape cases from their wives. In such cases, companies should be sensitized enough not to reject such candidates. Cases proved in lower courts are very often proved false in higher courts and companies should be sensitive to that as well. Even though such undisclosed criminal cases may lead to problems with the clients in future but corporate India should decide on a remedy to fight this social malice without any delay.

Hope now you understand how to fight out in such cases. In cases of any further help, you may contact me through this blog.

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