Gazetted Officer (India)

Gazetted Officers are executive/managerial level ranked public servants in India. Authority for a gazetted officer to issue an official stamp comes from the President of India or the Governors of States. To that effect, they are de jure representatives and delegates of the Indian State and the President. If a person's name is published in the Gazette of India or any state government gazette, he/she is called Gazetted.

Any appointment released and published in the government gazette is called a gazetted appointment.

The Gazette of India and state gazettes are official government publications, which publish the appointments or promotions of certain government officials along with other government ordinary/extraordinary notifications. An officer or public servant, who is appointed under the seal of the Governor at state level or by the President of India at the national level (and in the Union Territories), requires being listed in the Gazette of India or state government gazette and is considered to be a Gazetted Officer. Many are honorary Justices of the Peace and have the same standing as some of the Magistrates. Such officers, among other functions, have the power to verify the documents for academic, industrial, immigration and other purposes.

A notary public is a gazetted officer as per the law stated in the Notaries act, 1952. Section 6, Notaries act, 1952 states the annual publication of lists of notaries. It reads as:-

The Central Government, and every State Government shall, during the month of January each year, publish in the Official Gazette a list of notaries appointed by that government and in practice at the beginning of that year together with such details pertaining to them as may be prescribed.[1]

Ranks

Military ranks do not fall under Central Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, 1965. The Civil posts under Union of India have been classified as Group A, B and C. The military ranks does not fall under CCS (CCA) Rules 1965. However, they hold the Commission of the President of India, and are equivalent Class I Officer, with Gazette powers.

The Central Government of India or any State Government classifies public employees into Group A (Gazetted/Executive), Group B (Gazetted), Group B (Non-Gazetted), Group C and Group D. Earlier classification was Class I (Gazetted), II (Gazetted), II (Non-Gazetted), III and IV. Class I or Group A is the highest rank class and the Class IV or Group D is the least. The Government of India has plans to merge Group D into Group C. Class I and II (Gazetted) belong to the class of officers whose transfers, appointments, promotions and superannuation are published on a yearly basis in the official gazette of State or Union Government. Defense Personnel are categorized as Commissioned Officers, Junior Commissioned Officers and Other Ranks.

  • Class I or Group A (Gazetted)
These officials belong to the managerial or highest class of government servants who are placed in Level 10 and above in Civilian Pay matrices, Previously in the pay band 3 with 5400 grade pay and above in 6th CPC and Level 10 and 9 above in Pay Matrix in 7th CPC pay structure. However, Pay structure (Grade Pay or Level) is not the sole criteria and many though drawing pay in above pay structure due to financial upgradation under MACP Scheme, etc., may not be holding class I rank.
Examples - Magistrate & above in Judicial Service, Officers of the All India Services i.e. IAS, IPS, IPoS, IOFS, IFoS, Officers of 61 Central Group A Civil Services including IFS, IA&AS, IRS, CAPF's Officers, All India Railway Officers (IRSE, IRSME, IRSEE, IRSSE, IRAS, IRPS, IRTS, IRHS, RPF), Assistant Secretaries/Under Secretaries/Dy. Directors/Dy. Secretaries/Jt. Directors/Directors, etc. in Secretariat, Sr Audit/Account officers/Sr Divisional Accounts officers in IA&AD, Engineers of ISRO, DRDO, BARC, DAE, AERB, Geologist/Director/Director General (DG)/DDG/ADG and Geo scientists from Central Geological Services (Geological Survey of India, GSI), scientists of ISRO (Technical Officers of ISRO), DRDO, BARC, DAE, AERB also fall under this category. Central Secretariat Service (abbreviated as CSS) is the administrative Civil Service under Group A of the Central Civil Services of the executive branch of the Government of India. They are governed by Central Secretariat Service Rules of 1962, which has been issued under the powers of Article 309 of the Constitution of India. Assistant Professor and above in Central, State or in an Autonomous University, State Governments also appoint certain category officers under Group A Services in State Civil Services but officials of PSUs/Autonomous bodies, etc. though in above pay structure, are not classified as Group A (Gazetted) as their names are not notified in the Gazette of the Government. Officers of Autonomous bodies/ PSUs (Even Group 'A') are not Gazetted, however high they may be in the Rank.
  • Class II or Group B (Gazetted)
Examples - DANIPS, DANICS, Puducherry Civil Service, Puducherry Police Service, Section officers of AFHQ Civil Services and Central Secretariat Services, Chief Pharmacists, Income Tax officers, Superintendents of GST and Customs, Asst. Audit/Accounts Officers of Indian Audit & Accounts Department, Indian P&T Accounts & Financial Services, PS and Sr. PS in various ministries, JCOs in Armed Forces,[2][3] Principal/Headmaster of Government High School, Officers in State Civil Services, etc.
  • Class II or Group B (Non-Gazetted)
Examples - Assistant Section Officers in various ministries, Stenographers Grade '1', Senior Pharmacists various different Health Departments Junior Engineers in different departments of Union and State Govts, Customs / GST Assistants, etc.
  • Class III or Group C
Public servants in non-supervisory roles.
Examples - Pharmacists, Head Clerks / Section Heads, Police Head Constables, Typists, Stenographers, Tax Assistants, Telephone operators, TTEs, Junior Engineers, Senior Section Engineers on Railways, etc.
  • Class IV or Group D The category since stands upgraded to Group C lowest pay scale of PB1 Grade Pay Rs.1800 in 6th CPC pay structure en masse on account of implementation of recommendations of 6th CPC, though continuing to largely perform their erstwhile manual functions. Their recruitment qualification also stands upgraded to Matric or ITI. In 7th CPC pay structure they are in Level 1 in Pay Matrix. They are generally Manual workers (skilled or semi-skilled).
Examples - Peons, Sweepers, Junior Clerks, Multi Tasking Staff (MTS), Track men Grade IV and Group D in Railways, etc.

Who can certify documents
  • Attestation of copies of original documents: Group A and B (Gazetted) Commissioned officers & junior commissioned officers of Indian Armed Forces and public servants.
  • Character certificate, Police records verification: Commissioned officers of Indian Armed Forces, Group A Officers.
  • Citizenship certification: Group A officers, certification is limited to very few officials such as Sub-Divisional Magistrate, etc.
  • Verification for issue of Passport: It can be done by the Group 'A' officers of the rank of Under Secretary/Dy. Director (Grade Pay 6600/Level 11) and above.

Non-Gazetted

Officers/public servants falling under the category of Group C (or class III) and Group D (or class IV) are not gazetted. They do not have the personal authority to issue an official stamp on behalf of the Government. Further, employees serving in Nationalized Banks and PSUs are not gazetted but they can attest financial documents.

References
  1. "The Notaries Act of 1952" (PDF). Government of India.
  2. "JCOs are Gazetted Officers". Rediff.com. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  3. "MoD drops use of term pbor in armed forces". The Indian Express. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
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