Definitions

Definitions.— In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

1. (a) “appointing authority”, in relation to a Government servant, means,—
   • (i) the authority empowered to make appointments to the service of which the Government servant is for the time being a member or to the grade of the service in which the Government servant is for the time being included, or
   • (ii) the authority empowered to make appointments to the post which the Government servant for the time being holds, or
   • (iii) the authority which appointed the Government servant to such service, grade or post, as the case may be, or
   • (iv) where the Government servant having been a permanent member of any other service or having substantively held any other permanent post, has been in continuous employment of the Government, the authority which appointed him to that service or to any grade in that service or to that post, whichever authority is the highest authority.
2. (b) “Appellate Authority” means the Collector of the District.
3. (c) “Caste Certificate” means the certificate issued by the Competent Authority to an applicant indicating therein the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or the Other Backward Class Category, as the case may be, to which such applicant belongs;
4. (d) “Competent Authority” means the Deputy Collector and Sub-Divisional Magistrate of the respective Talukas, having jurisdiction over the area or place to which the applicant originally belongs, unless specified otherwise;
5. (e) “educational institution” means any School, Junior College, Degree College, College of Education, Polytechnic, Industrial Training Institute, College of Fine Arts and Architecture, College of Music and Dance, Engineering College, Agricultural College, Veterinary College, Medical College, Dental College, Ayurvedic College, Homoeopathic College, Unani College, Nurses Training School, Health Visitors Training School, Vocational Training Institution, Deemed University, Open University and various colleges under the control of any University established by or under an Act of the State Legislature and such other Institution, by whatever name called, which is carrying on (either exclusively or among other activities) the activity of imparting education as may be notified by the Government from time to time;
6. (f) “elective office” means a public office to be filled by a direct election against a seat in a Local Authority, the State Legislature or the Parliament.
7. (g) “Government” means the Government of Goa;
8. (h) “Local Authority”, in relation to local areas, means the concerned Municipal Corporation, Municipal Councils and in relation to any other local area in the State, means the village panchayats, as the case may be, constituted under any law for the time being in force in the State of Goa;
   • (i) “Other Backward Classes” means any Socially and Educationally Backward Classes of citizens as declared by the Government and includes Other Backward Classes declared by Government of India in relation to the State of Goa;
9. (j) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
10. (k) “Scheduled Castes” and “Scheduled Tribes” shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the clause

1. (24) and clause
2. (25) of Article 366 of the Constitution of India;
   • (l) “Scrutiny Committee” means the Committee constituted under sub-section
3. (1) of section 6 of this Act;
   • (m) “Vigilance Cell” means the Vigilance Cell constituted under section 7 of this Act;