K. Balakrishnan Nair, J.

O.P. No. 11925 of 1998

The petitioner who got employment under the Government as a member of the Scheduled Tribe is now told by the competent authority by Ext. P50 order that he is not a member of the Scheduled Tribe and therefore he should quit the post and refund the salary received by him. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioner has filed this Original Petition. The brief facts necessary for the disposal of the case are the following.

2. The Public Service Commission by Ext. PI notification dated 30.8.1983 invited applications for appointment to the post of Under Secretary in the Finance Department in the Government Secretariat. It was a special recruitment for the members of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe. The petitioner was duly qualified for appointment to the post and he applied for the post as a member of the Scheduled Tribe. He was selected and advised by the Public Service Commission as per Ext. P2 advice memo dated 29. and the Government as per Ext. P3 order dated 29. appointed him as Under Secretary in the Finance Department. Ext. P22 dated 11. is the caste certificate issued by the Tahsildar, Ranni, certifying that the petitioner belongs to Hindu Uraly which is a Scheduled Tribe. At the relevant time the Tahsildar was one of the competent authorities authorised to issue community certificates. The petitioner completed his probation in the post of Under Secretary and in due course he has been further promoted, and from 1993 he is working as Additional Secretary in the Finance Department.

3. While so, in the year 1995, the petitioner was served with Ext. P4 notice dated 30.10.1995 by the Vigilance Officer of the KIRTADS, calling upon him to attend an enquiry on 15.11.1995. The enquiry related to the caste status of the petitioner. After one or two adjournments, the petitioner appeared for the enquiry held on 5.1.1996. He gave the information sought from him and also filled up and submitted Ext. P5 questionnaire. Later, the petitioner was served with Ext. P6 notice dated 31.1.1997 issued by the Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee for verification of SC/ST claims, constituted under Ext. P51 Government Order dated 8.5.1995. The allegation in Ext. P6 was that the petitioner has made false claim that he is a member of Uraly (Scheduled Tribe) community. The proposed action in the notice was to cancel the Scheduled Tribe certificate wrongfully secured by the petitioner and to take consequential action. Along with Ext. P6 notice Ext. P7 report of the Vigilance Officer of the KIRTADS dated 11.

11.9.1996 was also served on the petitioner.

4. The petitioner submitted Ext. P8 reply to the show-cause notice. He also submitted documents to substantiate his claim that he is a member of the Uraly (Scheduled Tribe) community. Thereafter, the Scrutiny Committee heard the petitioner. At the time of hearing he submitted Ext. P15 explanation and further documents to substantiate his claim. The petitioner was given the hearing on 14.10.1997. He appeared along with his counsel and explained his contentions. It was emphasised that Ext. P7 was prepared on the basis of hearsay and the same should not be relied upon without giving him a chance to challenge the statements of the persons relied on by the Vigilance Officer in Ext. P7.

5. Overruling the objections of the petitioner, the 2nd respondent-Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee passed Ext. P50 order dated 7.3.1998, rejecting the Scheduled Tribe claim of the petitioner and declaring that he is a member of Kuravan (Scheduled Caste) community. The report was submitted before the Government for further follow-up action. The petitioner challenges Exts. P7 and P50 on various grounds.

6. A detailed counter-affidavit has been filed on behalf of the 2nd respondent, supporting the impugned orders. I heard both sides. The learned counsel for the petitioner relied on the decisions of the Apex Court in Gayatrilaxmi Bapurao Nagpore v. State of Maharashtra (AIR 1996 SC 13