IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY
Surendra
Versus
State of Maharashtra
Decided On : (September 1, 2005) 2006
Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-Notified Tribes, (Vimukta Jatis) Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of issuance and verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000 - Section 7 - If a claimant fails to substantiate and establish his caste claim he cannot be termed as a person who has obtained and produced a false caste certificate. - The phraseology ’false caste certificate’ or ’a certificate obtained fraudulently’ used in Section 8 of the Act cannot and does not cover bona fide cases where a claimant fails to establish his caste claim. To hold that a person has obtained a ’false caste certificate’ or a ’certificate fraudulently’, there need to exist an element of mens rea or a guilty mind and only on the establishment of the existence of said element, that a person could be branded as one who has obtained false caste certificate. Solely on the ground hat he claim is invalidated, the scrutiny committee will not be justified in reaching a conclusion that he claimant has obtained a false certificate or has produced a false caste certificate.
A. P. DESHPANDE, J.
( 1 ) THE petitioner, by filing the instant petition, is challenging an order passed by the Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate scrutiny Committee, Nashik, rejecting the tribe claim of the petitioner to mannerwarlu, scheduled Tribe. The petitioner came to be selected for being appointed as Police Sub- inspector consequent upon his selection by the maharashtra Public Service Commission against a seat reserved for Scheduled Tribe. Maharashtra Public Service Commission recommended the name of the petitioner for being appointed as Police Sub-Inspector and accordingly the petitioner came to be appointed in the said post. The petitioner was selected by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission in the examination held in the year 1987 and the petitioner was communicated about the same vide letter dated 04-04-1988. The petitioner was then sent for practical training and on successful completion of the training, joined regular service under the Statute with effect from 13-06-1989.
( 2 ) THE caste (tribe) certificate possessed by the petitioner was referred to the committee for its scrutiny and verification. In the first instance, the Scrutiny Committee rejected the claim of the petitioner and being aggrieved, the petitioner filed Writ Petition bearing No. 4649/1995 challenging the order passed by the Scrutiny Committee. This Court quashed and set aside the order passed by the committee and remanded the matter for its decision at the hands of newly constituted committee formed pursuant to the direction issued by the Apex Court in the case of madhuri Patil Vs. Additional commissioner, Tribunal Development and others (AIR 1995 SC 94 ). After remand a de novo enquiry is made by the Committee and the tribal claim is rejected vide order dated 25-09-1996 which is the subject matter of challenge in the present petition.
( 3 ) LEARNED Counsel for the petitioner has made twofold submission, firstly, that the impugned order passed by the Committee is unsustainable in law as the order is perverse as it does not consider the evidence in its proper perspective, and secondly, that the petitioners appointment as Police Sub-Inspector made in the year 1989 stands protected by the government Resolution dated 15-06-3-1995.
( 4 ) VARIOUS documents were placed before the Committee with a view to substantiate the tribe claim of the petitioner. The Committee after considering the evidence on record found that the basic document viz. school leaving certificate pertaining to the petitioner himself, issued by the Head Master of Zilla Parishad High School, Kinwat, reveals the entry against the caste column as munurwar, and hence chose to rely upon the said evidence and further held that other documents would be of little assistance to the petitioner to establish his tribe claim to mannerwarlu, Scheduled Tribe. Relying mainly on the school leaving certificate, the committee concluded that the petitioner has failed to establish his claim to mannerwarlu, scheduled Tribe. The Committee further concluded that the petitioner belongs to munurwar caste which is included in special backward Category declared by the State government. The other documents which go to support the claim of the petitioner are in the nature of birth certificate of the candidate, a document indicating receipt of scholarship by the petitioner, service record of the candidates relative, affidavits filed by the relatives of the petitioner, caste certificate possessed by the petitioner and copies of the orders passed in some petitions by the High Court. The committee has rejected the birth certificate of the candidate by observing that the said document is recently procured and hence cannot be relied upon. As other documents are found to be pitted against a basic document, as described by the Committee, which is a school leaving certificate of the petitioner, the other documents have been rejected. The committee has further observed in the impugned order that the petitioner
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