JUDGMENT :

DHANANJAYA Y. CHANDRACHUD, CJI.

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal arises from a judgment dated 30 October 2019 of a Division Bench of the High Court of Orissa.

3. On 17 October 1998, the first respondent joined the service of the appellant as a Junior Assistant against a post reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes. In support of her plea of belonging to a Scheduled Caste, the first respondent submitted a caste certificate which was issued by the Tehsildar, Bhubaneswar. The caste certificate was issued on 5 January 1996 in Miscellaneous Case No. 7/1996, mentioning that the first respondent belonged to a Scheduled Caste “Dewar.”

4. On 2 August 2011, the appellant requested the Sub-Collector, Khurda (the fourth respondent) to enquire into the veracity of the caste certificate on the ground that the high school certificate and provisional marks sheet of the first respondent at the 12th standard examination revealed that she was a Brahmin. On 3 August 2011, the Sub- Collector directed an enquiry to verify the authenticity of the caste certificate issued to the first respondent.

5. On 5 August 2011, the Tehsildar (the second respondent) issued a notice to show cause to