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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
HIMA KOHLI, SANDEEP MEHTA, JJ.
K. Nirmala and Others – Appellants
Versus
Canara Bank and Another – Respondents
Civil Appeal Nos. 9916-9920 of 2024, Arising Out of SLP (Civil) Nos. 13453, 13484-13488, 19877, 23500-23501 of 2019
Decided On : 28-08-2024
Constitution of India – Articles 341 and 342 – List of Scheduled Castes – Modification of – Any inclusion or exclusion in or from list of Scheduled Castes can only be made through Act of Parliament under Articles 341 and 342 of Constitution of India – Neither State Government nor Courts have authority to modify list of Scheduled Castes as promulgated by Presidential order under Articles 341 and 342 – Appellants obtained their Caste Certificates(under Scheduled Castes category) by following due process of law – When these Caste Certificates were issued, synonymous caste, as of appellants had been included in list of Scheduled Castes by virtue of circular issued by the Government of Karnataka, by exercising powers that were not vested in State – Individuals who secured employment based on Caste Certificates issued under erroneous Government circulars/orders would no longer be entitled to claim future benefits under such certificates and would henceforth be treated as General Merit category candidates for all practical purposes – Proposed action of respondent banks/undertakings in issuing notice(s) to appellants to show cause as to why their services may not be terminated cannot be sustained and hereby quashed – Impugned judgments rendered by Division Bench do not stand to scrutiny and same are quashed and set aside. (Paras 25, 26, 27, 37 and 38)
Facts of the case:
Common thread that runs through these matters is as to whether a person who joined services of a Nationalized Bank/Government of India undertaking based on a certificate that identified him/her as belonging to a Scheduled Caste (‘SC’)/Scheduled Tribe (‘ST’) in State of Karnataka, pursuant to State Government's notifications, would be entitled to retain position after caste/tribe has been de-scheduled.
Findings of Court:
Appellants are entitled to protection of their services by virtue of Government circular dated 29th March, 2003 issued by Government of Karnataka as ratified by communication dated 17th August, 2005 issued by the Ministry of Finance. Circular dated 29th March, 2003 issued by the Government of Karnataka specifically extended protection to various castes, including those which were excluded in the earlier Government circular dated 11th March, 2002.
Result : Appeals allowed.
JUDGMENT :
SANDEEP MEHTA, J.
1. Heard.
2. Leave granted.
3. This batch of appeals, which involves identical questions of fact and law, arises from the judgments delivered by the Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka, as listed in the table below. Given the similarities, the appeals have been heard together and are being decided collectively.
| SLP No. | Writ Appeal No | Date of Impugned Judgment | Concerned Respondents/Employer | Community (Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe) |
| Special Leave Petition (C) No. 13484-13488 of 2019 | Writ Appeal No. 189-193 of 2019 | 24th April, 2019 | The Canara Bank of India | Kotegara (SC) |
| Special Leave Petition (C) No. 19877 of 2019 | Writ Appeal No. 2253 of 2018 (S-R) | 3rd July, 2019 | The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. | Kuruba (ST) |
| Special Leave Petition (C) No. 23500-23501 of 2019 | Writ Appeal No. 3666 of 2016 (SDIS) c/w Writ Appeal No. 3483 of 2016 | 3rd July, 2019 | The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. | Kuruba (ST) |
| Special Leave Petition (C) No. 13453 of 2019 | Writ Appeal No. 316 of 2019 | 24th April, 2019 | The Canara Bank of India | Kotegara (SC) |
Civil Appeals arising out of SLP (C) Nos. 13484-13488 of 2019 shall be treated as the lead matter. The outcome of these appeals shall govern all the connected matters.
4. The common thread that runs through these matters is as to whether a person who joined the services of a Nationalized Bank/Government of India undertaking based on a certificate that identified him/her as belonging to a Scheduled Caste (‘SC’)/Scheduled Tribe (‘ST’) in the State of Karnataka, pursuant to the State Government’s notifications, would be entitled to retain the position after the caste/tribe has been de-scheduled. The situation has arisen on account of the State of Karnataka re-designating some castes under the list of SC/ST, inspite of the fact that this jurisdiction is exclusively conferred upon the Parliament by virtue of the scheme under Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution of India.
5. In brief, the individual details of the appellants in the lead matter are detailed below:
| S. No. | Name of the Appellant herein | Date of Issuance of Caste Certificate | Date of Joining Service |
| 1. | K. Nirmala/Appellant No. 1 | 6th February, 1978 | 26th December, 1978 |
| 2. | K.V. Shankar/Appellant No. 2 | 17th March, 1978 | 20th July, 1981 |
| 3. | D.K. Prabhakar/Appellant No. 3 | 17th March, 1978 | 24th March, 1981 |
| 4. | S. Suresh/Appellant No. 4 | 2nd March, 1981 | 23rd March, 1981 |
| 5. | Muktha S. Rao/Appellant No. 5 | 30th November, 1987 | 30th November, 1987 |
6. As evident from the table above, appellant Nos. 1 to 5 in Civil Appeals @ SLP (C) Nos. 13484-13488 of 2019 were employed by the Canara Bank (hereinafter referred to as ‘respondent No. 1-bank’) in the Scheduled Castes Category based on Caste Certificates, certifying that they belonged to the ‘Kotegara’ community, a synonymous caste which was made equivalent to the caste called ‘Kotegar Matri’ (included in the Scheduled Castes list) by a Government circular dated 21st November, 1977 issued by the State of Karnataka. It is undisputed that the appellants duly obtained these Caste Certificates in accordance with the prevailing Government circular.
7. A Constitution Bench of this Court in State of Maharashtra vs. Milind and Others, (2001) 1 SCC 4 held that the State Government has no authority to amend or modify the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes list published under Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution of India. A caste can only be classified as a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or a Socially and Educationally Backward Caste when the Presidential Order is issued to that effect in exercise of the powers prescribed under Articles 341, 342, and 342A of the Constitution of India respectively. In Milind (supra), this Court held as below:
List of Scheduled Castes – State has no jurisdiction to tinker with Presidential Orders issued under Article 341 of Constitution of India.
Termination of service based on reclassification of caste is unlawful if the applicant acted in good faith and without fraud or misrepresentation.
Point of Law : High Court while exercising powers under Article 226 has power to do substantial justice.
Caste validation certificates directly impact employment rights; wrongful classification can lead to termination, which the court corrected based on precedent.
Denial of Scheduled Caste status based on caste certificate format is unconstitutional under Article 14, violating rights protected by Section 73 of the Bihar Reorganization Act, 2000.
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