Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2019 Supreme(SC) 552

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
L. NAGESWARA RAO, M.R. SHAH, JJ.
Director Transport Department Union Territory Administration of Dadra and Nagar Haveli Silvassa & Ors. - Appellants
Versus
Mr. Abhinav Dipakbhai Patel - Respondent
Civil Appeal No.4665 of 2019 (Arising out of S.L.P. (Civil) No. 16421 of 2017)
Decided On : 07-05-2019

Advocates Appeared:
For the Petitioner:Mr. Akshay Amritanshu, Adv. Mr. Hemant Arya, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Kumar, Adv. Mr. R.B. Yadav, Adv. Mrs. Anil Katiyar, Advocate
For the Respondent:Mr. Shekhar Naphade, Sr. Adv. Mr. Prasenjit Keswani, Adv. Mr. Raghvendra Pratap Singh, Adv. Mr. Satyajit Pratap Singh, Adv. Ms. S. Lakshmi Iyer, Adv. Mr. Abhikalp Pratap Singh, Adv. Mr. Rohitash Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mrs. V. D. Khanna, Advocate
For the Intervenor :Mr. Devmani Shukla, Adv. Mr. Nitin S. Tambwekar, Adv. Mr. Seshatalpa Sai Bandaru, Advocate

IMPORTANT POINTS
(1) Presidential Notification issued under Articles 341 and 342 cannot be altered or modified by Executive.
(2) A person belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe which is notified by President for a Union Territory is entitled to be considered as a reserved candidate provided he is a resident of said Union Territory.

Headnote:(A) Service Law – Reservation – Appointment on post of Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector – According to advertisement, a candidate applying in reserved category should produce a certificate issued by competent authority – All Indian citizens were eligible to apply for selection to post of Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector and candidates were informed about weightage to be given to locals – Respondent was a resident in Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli for six years prior to date of advertisement – Presidential Notification issued for Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli extends benefit of reservation to Scheduled Tribes mentioned therein on the basis of residence and not on the basis of origin – A person belonging to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe which is notified by President for a Union Territory is entitled to be considered as a reserved candidate provided he is a resident of said Union Territory – Gross injustice is caused to Respondent by action of Appellants in not appointing him in spite of advice of Union of India and direction issued by National Commission for Scheduled Tribes – Appointment of Respondent as Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector does not brook any further delay – Judgment of High Court upheld. (Paras 7, 11, 12 and 13)
       (B) Constitution of India – Articles 341 and 342 – Reservation – Presidential Notification issued under Articles 341 and 342 cannot be altered or modified by Executive. (Para 11)
       Facts of Case:
       Judgment of High Court directing appointment of Respondent as Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector by allowing his Writ Petition is subject matter Appeal. Respondent belongs to “Dhodia” caste which is recognized as a Scheduled Tribe category in State of Gujarat as well as in Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. He holds a caste certificate which was issued by concerned competent authority in State of Gujarat. He shifted his residence from Gujarat to Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. He owns a residential accommodation in Union Territory and has a Voter’s I.D. card to show that he was a resident of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
       Findings of Court:
       Presidential Notification issued for Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli extends benefit of reservation to Scheduled Tribes mentioned therein on the basis of residence and not on the basis of origin. We find no force in point canvassed by Counsel for Appellants that reservation for Scheduled Tribes in Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli is not available to migrant Scheduled Tribes.
       Result : Appeal dismissed.

JUDGMENT :

L. NAGESWARA RAO, J.

Leave granted.

1. The judgment of the High Court directing appointment of the Respondent as Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector by allowing his Writ Petition is the subject matter of the above Appeal. The Respondent belongs to “Dhodia” caste which is recognized as a Scheduled Tribe category in the State of Gujarat as well as in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. He holds a caste certificate which was issued by the concerned competent authority in the State of Gujarat. He shifted his residence from Gujarat to the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. He owns a residential accommodation in the Union Territory and has a Voter’s I.D. card to show that he was a resident of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

2. An advertisement was issued on 25.10.2014 calling for applications for filling up two posts of Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspectors, one of them reserved for the Scheduled Tribe category. It was made clear in the advertisement that all Indian citizens could apply for appointment to the post. However, persons having ‘Domicile’ in Dadra and Nagar Haveli would be given weightage. Candidates claiming to be members of a Scheduled Tribe were required to furnish an attested copy of the certificate issued by the competent authority stating that he/she belongs to the Scheduled Tribe community. The Respondent applied for selection to the post of Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector and after scrutiny of 114 applications that were received, it was found that three candidates belonging to the ‘General’ category and two from the ‘Scheduled Tribe’ category were eligible. The respondent appeared in the written examination on 01.07.2015. To his surprise, the Respondent found that the result of the written examination for the Scheduled Tribe vacancy was not announced while announcing the result for the unreserved post on 11.07.2015. As there was no response to the representations made by him regarding his non-selection to the post of Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector, he approached the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, Govt. of India. The National Commission, being convinced that the Respondent was a resident of the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and that he belongs to a Scheduled Tribe category, directed the representative of Dadra and Nagar Haveli to seek a clarification from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India and appoint the Respondent thereafter. The Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India clarified that the Respondent was eligible for appointment and advised the concerned authority to take appropriate action as per the directions issued by the National Commission for Schedule Tribes. After a series of correspondence between the Government of India, Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and the National Commission, an order was passed on 25.07.2016 by the National Commission directing the Appellants to issue a letter of appointment in favour of the Respondent. Since no action was taken to appoint the Respondent, he was constrained to file a Writ Petition in the High Court of Judicature at Bombay.

3. On behalf of the Appellants, it was submitted before the High Court that a policy was framed by the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli on 01.09.2006 by which it was decided that the local candidates from open category had to provide ‘Domicile’ certificate. Insofar as the reserved categories are concerned, only local candidates would be considered. The said policy was modified on 26.12.2013 only in respect of ‘Domicile’ relating to open category candidates. It was also contended on behalf of the Appellants that there can be no difference between migrants of the Scheduled Tribe from one State to another and from one State to a Union Territory. As there was a separate Presidential Order issued for notifying the Scheduled Tribes in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, migrants cannot claim the benefit of reservation in the Union Territory. While referring to the weightage given to local candida

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2019 Supreme(SC) 552

Cases Referred (5)