IMPORTANT POINT
A void caste certificate is always liable to be cancelled.

JUDGMENT :

RAJESH BINDAL, J.

1. The judgment¹ [Judgment dated 30.03.2015 passed in MAT No. 2117 of 2014] of the Division Bench of High Court² [High Court at Calcutta] is under challenge in the present appeal. Vide aforesaid judgment, the order³ [Order dated 25.11.2014 passed in W.P. No. 12426(W) of 2014] passed by the Single Judge was upheld.

2. The issue in the present appeal pertains to cancellation of caste certificate issued to respondent No. 15.

SET OF FACTS

3. Late-Ramanand Baraik sold 2.11 acres of land vide registered sale deeds dated 30.08.1983 to one Sanjay Gupta and two others. It was mutated in the name of the purchasers. Between 1980 and 1983, late-Ramanand Baraik sold more than ten acres of land to different persons. He was working as a driver with the Corporation.⁴ [The North Bengal State Transport Corporation, Cooch Behar] He was appointed as such on 01.01.1973 and was terminated from service w.e.f. 30.11.1987. As per the record with his employer, he belonged to general category. Ramanand passed away in the year 1991.

4. On an application filed by respondent No. 15 son of late Ramanand Baraik, the concerned SDO⁵ [The Sub Divisional Officer] on 23.04.1993 issued a Caste Certificate of Scheduled Tribe in his favour showing him to be belonging to ‘Chik Baraik’.

5. On 08.02.2000, respondent No. 15 purchased 0.07 acres of land for the purpose of construction of a dwelling house for a total sale consideration of Rs. 93,950/-. It is claimed that the aforesaid land was sold by respondent No. 15 on 01.03.2000. At that stage, he claimed himself to be belonging to general category and no permission as such was taken for sale of the land under Sections 14B and 14C of the 1955 Act.⁶ [The West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955] Seventeen years after registration of the sale deeds by late Ramanand Baraik in favour of Sanjay Gupta and others on 30.08.1983 and about ten years after his death, a complaint was filed by Bishwanath Roy and another person claiming that the aforesaid land had been sold in violation of Section 14B and 14 C of the 1955 Act. Notices were issued to the complainant as well as Sanjay Gupta on 29.06.2000 on the subject ‘Alienation of S/T land’.

6. There are affidavits sworn by respondent No. 15 dated 06.07.2000 and 02.08.2000 stating that he belongs to general caste which is ‘Tanti’. He further specifically stated that he does not belong to Scheduled Tribes community and that there is no bar for selling his land. Subsequent thereto, on 07.02.2001, respondents No. 15 and 16 sold land to one Zainul Abdin. It is stated in the aforesaid sale-deed that 0.26 acres of land was purchased by late Ramanand Baraik, which was inherited by them being the only legal heir, after the death of Ramanand Baraik in the year 1991. Out of that, they sold 0.07 acres of land in favour of one Parmeshwar Rao Nalla and one Zainul Abdin. At that stage, no permission was taken for sale of the land under Sections 14B and 14C the 1955 Act, even though it is claimed that respondent No. 15 had been issued a certificate of his belonging to S.T. Category on 23.04.1993.

6.1 The District Land and Land Reforms Officer, Darjeeling vide memo dated 21.05.2001 informed the Block Land & Land Reforms Officer, with reference to his memo No. 816 dated 29.08.2000, on the subject ‘Alienation of S/T land’ that the complaint filed by Bishwanath Roy was dismissed. It referred to the affidavit submitted by respondent No. 15.

7. On 22.01.2004, respondents No. 15 to 18 filed an application under Section 14E of the 1955 Act challenging the sale deeds dated 30.08.1983 executed in favour of Sanjay Gupta and others by his late father. This was despite the fact that earlier similar complaint filed by Bishwanath challenging the aforesaid sale deed had already been dismissed.

8. The appellants No. 1 and 2 purchased the land in dispute from Sanjay Gupta and others on 24.11.200