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NITIN W. SAMBRE, ABHAY J. MANTRI
Sakshi D/o Govindrao Narnaware – Appellant
Versus
Schedule Tribe Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
ABHAY J. MANTRI, J.
1. Rule. Rule is made returnable forthwith. Heard finally, with the consent of the learned counsel, appearing for the parties.
2. The challenge is raised to the order dated 28/08/2023 passed by the respondent Caste Scrutiny Committee (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Committee’), thereby invalidating the claim of the petitioner that she belongs to the “Mana” Scheduled Tribe.
3. The petitioner claims that she belongs to the “Mana” Scheduled Tribe. On 01/06/2022, Sub-Divisional Officer Katol issued a caste certificate in her favour. She was pursuing a B. Tech education against the seat reserved for the Scheduled Tribe category. On 15/09/2022, the Committee received the petitioner caste certificate and the documents through the Principal, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Ajni, Nagpur. Since the Committee was of the view that the petitioner’s claim was doubtful, the documents submitted by her were forwarded to the Vigilance Cell for a detailed enquiry. The Vigilance Cell thoroughly enquired and submitted its report to the Committee on 13/07/2023. During the enquiry, some adverse entries were found against the petitioner’s claim. The Committee vide show-cause notice dated 2
The burden of proof under Section 8 of the Act of 2000 requires the petitioner to disprove adverse historical entries to establish her Scheduled Tribe status.
Burden of proof for tribal claims relies on historical documents, with older records holding more weight; claims of synonymous tribe names require clear establishment.
The petitioner failed to prove his claim to the 'Mana' Scheduled Tribe, as older documents indicating 'Mani' had greater probative value, and he tampered with evidence.
The court emphasized that pre-Constitutional documents are of higher probative value for determining tribe claims, and invalidation by the committee on the basis of affinity test was not legally soun....
The credibility of caste claims must adhere to historical documentation, with greater weight given to pre-Independence records, in lieu of modern records.
The burden of proof lies on the claimant to establish tribal affiliation, particularly through credible pre-constitutional documentation, which holds greater evidentiary value.
The probative value of pre-Constitutional documents is superior to subsequent documents, establishing the distinction between 'Halba' and 'Halbi' Scheduled Tribes.
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