1. Challenge to the invalidation of a caste certificate by a Scrutiny Committee and the subsequent dismissal of a writ petition by the High Court. (Para 1 )
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2021 Supreme(SC) 784
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
(From the High Court of Judicature at Bombay)
M.R. Shah, B.V. Nagarathna, JJ.
Rushikesh Bharat Garud – Appellant
Versus
The State of Maharashtra and others – Respondents
Civil Appeal No. 7442 of 2021
Decided on : 10-12-2021
Advocates appeared:
For the Appellant :Uday B. Dube, Advocate
For the Respondent:Sachin Patil, Rahul Chitnis, Aaditya A. Pande, Geo Joseph, Suhaskumar kadam, M/s. Black & White Solicitors, Advocates
For the Appellant :Uday B. Dube, Advocate
For the Respondent:Sachin Patil, Rahul Chitnis, Aaditya A. Pande, Geo Joseph, Suhaskumar kadam, M/s. Black & White Solicitors, Advocates
Important Points
IMPORTANT POINT
Scrutiny Committee must decide validity of caste certificates by speaking orders.
Scrutiny Committee must decide validity of caste certificates by speaking orders.
Subject
Caste Certificate Scrutiny - Validity of Caste Certificate
Headnote
Reservation – Caste Certificate – Invalidation of – Before High Court appellant heavily relied upon validity certificates issued to his father as well as to his cousins – Neither were original validity certificates relied upon by appellant produced nor genealogy – At the relevant time those caste certificates were not cancelled by Scrutiny Committee – Validity of caste certificates in favour of father of appellant and in favour of his cousins is at large before Security Committee – Therefore, it will be appropriate if cases of all; father of appellant, cousins of appellant and appellant herein be considered together, to avoid any conflicting orders – Impugned judgment and order passed by High Court set aside and matter remanded to Scrutiny Committee to consider validity of caste certificate issued in favour of appellant afresh along with cases of his father and his cousins – Scrutiny Committee to pass fresh order/s in accordance with law and on its own merits and on the basis of material available on record and/or that may be produced. (Paras 3, 4 and 5)
Facts of the case:
Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with impugned judgment and order dated 29.06.2021 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Writ Petition No. 11536 of 2021, by which High Court has dismissed the said writ petition preferred by the appellant herein in which appellant herein challenged the order passed by Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Nashik, invalidating the caste certificate issued to appellant, original writ petitioner has preferred the present appeal.
Findings of Court:
This Court has not gone into the merits of the case at all and has not observed anything on the validity of the caste certificate issued in favour of the appellant.
Result : Appeal allowed.
Legal Category Hierarchy
Table of Contents
2. Contention that the appellant's caste validity claim should be considered alongside the reopened cases of family members to avoid conflicting orders. (Para 4 )
3. Observation that since the validity of family members' certificates is currently under review, joint consideration is appropriate to prevent inconsistent findings. (Para 4 , 5 )
4. Related caste validity claims should be considered together to avoid conflicting orders when the validity of supporting family certificates is under review. (Para 4 , 5 )
5. Impugned judgment set aside and matter remanded to the Scrutiny Committee for fresh consideration of the appellant's claim along with related family cases. (Para 5 , 7 )
6. Under what circumstances should related caste validity claims be considered together by a Scrutiny Committee?
When the validity certificates of family members, which serve as the basis for a claimant's case, have been reopened or are under review, the cases should be considered together to avoid conflicting orders. (Para 4 , 5 )
7. Does a court's decision to remand a caste validity matter for fresh consideration constitute a ruling on the merits of the claim?
No, a remand for fresh consideration, especially when ordered to be heard alongside related cases, does not imply any finding or observation regarding the actual validity of the caste certificate. (Para 5 , 6 )
JUDGMENT
M.R. Shah, J.
Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order dated 29.06.2021 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Writ Petition No. 11536 of 2021, by which the High Court has dismissed the said writ petition preferred by the appellant herein in which the appellant herein challenged the order passed by Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Nashik (for short, 'Scrutiny Committee'), invalidating the caste certificate issued to the appellant, the original writ petitioner has preferred the present appeal.
2. We have heard Mr. Uday B. Dube, learned Advocate appearing for the appellant and Mr. Sachin Patil, learned Advocate appearing for the State of Maharashtra and the Scrutiny Committee.
3. From the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court, it appears that before the High Court the appellant heavily relied upon the validity certificates issued to his father Bharat Nagu Garud dated 14.01.2005 as well as to his cousins - Nilima Rohidas Garud dated 9.9.2005; Pravin Rohidas Garud dated 9.9.2005; Priyanka Rohidas Garud dated 20.09.2005; Rohidas Nago Garud dated 25.05.2011; and Ramdas Nagu Garud dated 07.12.2012. The aforesaid was also the case of the appellant herein before the Scrutiny Committee. However, the Scrutiny Committee while not accepting the above submission observed that when the appellant's father's caste claim was considered, 35 contradictory entries were not placed before the Scrutiny Committee. Neither were the original validity certificates relied upon by the appellant produced nor the genealogy. The Scrutiny Committee made identical observations regarding other validity certificates to the effect that the adverse entries were not placed on record. However, the fact remains that at the relevant time those caste certificates were not cancelled by the Scrutiny Committee.
4. Be that as it may. Now, it is the case on behalf of the appellant that the cases of the father of the appellant and his cousins have been re-opened and show cause notices have been issued to show cause why their caste certificates be not cancelled. Therefore, the validity of the caste certificates in favour of the father of the appellant and in favour of his cousins is at large before the Security Committee. Therefore, it will be appropriate if the cases of all, namely, father of the appellant, cousins of the appellant and the appellant herein be considered together, to avoid any conflicting orders.
5. In view of the above and without expressing anything on the validity of the caste certificate issued in favour of the appellant, we set aside the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court and remand the matter to the Scrutiny Committee to consider the validity of the caste certificate issued in favour of the appellant afresh along with the cases of his father and his cousins, namely, Bharat Nagu Garud, Nilima Rohidas Garud, Pravin Rohidas Garud, Priyanka Rohidas Garud, Rohidas Nago Garud and Ramdas Nagu Garud. The Scrutiny Committee to pass fresh order/s in accordance with law and on its own merits and on the basis of the material available on record and/or that may be produced and pass a speaking order at the earliest, preferably within a period of three months from today.
6. At the cost of repetition, it is observed that this Court has not gone into the merits of the case at all and has not observed anything on the validity of the caste certificate issued in favour of the appellant.
7. The present appeal is accordingly allowed to the aforesaid extent. However, in the facts and circumstances of the case, there shall be no order as to costs.
