The burden of proof for caste status lies with the applicant, and the petitioner failed to substantiate his claim of belonging to Budaga Jangama caste, being found to belong to Byragi caste instead.

ORDER :

The petitioner is knocking at the doors of this Court in the subject petition being aggrieved by the report of the District Caste Verification Committee (for short ‘DCVC’) dated 27-10-2021 and has sought consequential direction to confirm the caste certificate issued to him by the Competent Authority on 03-04-2012 as legal and valid.

2. Facts that lead the petitioner to this Court in the subject petition, as borne out from the pleadings, are as follows:

The petitioner claims to be a resident of Maraheru Kothur Village and claims to be belonging to ‘Budaga Jangama’ caste. It is the further averment that custom and religious practices that the petitioner follows and professes are that of Budaga Jangama caste. The petitioner claims that his parents and his fore-fathers also belonged to Budaga Jangama caste. Owing to their illiteracy and ignorance the school authorities had indicated the caste of the petitioner as belonging to ‘Byragi’, looking at the attire of his parents. In the year 2008 the petitioner applies for grant of a caste certificate in his favour depicting him to be belonging to Budaga Jangama caste before the jurisdictional Tahsildar. The Tahsildar rejects the application of the petitioner in terms of his order dated 04-04-2008 on the ground that the petitioner cannot belong to Budaga Jangama caste as there were no people of Budaga Jangama caste in Kolar District. This is challenged before the DCVC by filing an appeal in terms of the provisions of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes (Reservation of Appointment etc.,) Act, 1990 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’ for short) and the Rules framed thereunder namely the Karnataka Scheduled Castes Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes (Reservation of Appointment etc.,) Rules, 1992 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Rules’ for short).

3. The DCVC rejects the appeal filed by the petitioner in terms of its order dated 12-04-2008 for want of any supporting material to declare the petitioner to be belonging to Budaga Jangama caste. The petitioner claims to have collected sufficient material in support of his case for issuance of a caste certificate and submits a fresh application to the Tahsildar for issuance of such certificate. The Tahsildar forwards the application submitted by the petitioner to the Deputy Commissioner on 16-04-2010 seeking a clarification for issuance of caste certificate in favour of the petitioner as sought by him to be belonging to Budaga Jangama caste. The Deputy Commissioner on 01-07-2010 directs the Tahsildar to issue the caste certificate as sought by the petitioner, without any delay. The Tahsildar then seeks clarification with regard to wrong caste entries in the school records of the petitioner. The Deputy Commissioner thereafter further directs issuance of caste certificate in favour of the petitioner on 17-07-2010. The Tahsildar then issues the caste certificate on 26-11-2010 depicting the petitioner to be belonging to Budaga Jangama caste.

4. It is the averment in the petition that the petitioner then comes to know that the entire file relating to the petitioner being declared to be a Budaga Jangama caste while issuing caste certificate vanished from the office of the Tahsildar. Owing to such shock and surprise, the petitioner makes a fresh application before the Deputy Commissioner on 02-01-2012 for issuance of a caste certificate declaring him to be belonging to Budaga Jangama caste. The Deputy Commissioner, on receipt of the application, refers the matter to the Tahsildar for necessary action. It is claimed that the Tahsildar after receipt of the communication from the Deputy Commissioner drew up a spot mahazar and then concludes that the petitioner belongs to Budaga Jangama caste and issues a caste certificate depicting him to be belonging to “Budaga Jangama” caste.

5. The petitioner then owing to necessity submits an application under the Right to Information Act before the Tahsildar seeking