The court emphasized the importance of accurate inclusion and exclusion of castes in the OBC list as per the Orissa State Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993 and the Mandal Commission's report.

JUDGMENT :

Sanju Panda, J.

1. Petitioner in this application has challenged the order dated 1.9.2015 passed by opposite party No. 3-Tahasildar, Balikuda in Misc. Certificate Case No. e-OBC/582/2015 rejecting the application for issuance of caste certificate as well as with a prayer to direct the opposite party No. 3 to issue a fresh OBC certificate in favour of the petitioner by taking his caste as "Badhai". The facts leading to the present case are as follows:--

"It is averred in the writ petition that petitioner is an Engineering Graduate and belongs to Other Backward Class. His caste being "Badhei" as spelt in Odia vernacular. The caste "Badhei" was recognized as a back ward class and it has been spelt as "Badhai". Basing on such recognition as a backward class, the petitioner time and again was issued with the caste certificate by opposite party No. 3 on different occasions. Copy of the same annexed with the writ petition as Annexure-2 series. Basing on such certificate issued by opposite party No. 3 on 6.2.2014 in Misc. Certificate Case No. e-OBC/16 of 2014 petitioner submitted his application for the post of Asst. Loco Pilot before the Railway Recruitment Board, Bhubaneswar. In the said recruitment petitioner was qualified in the written test as well as in the skill test. After qualification of the petitioner the Railway Recruitment Board issued the letter dated 4.8.2015 for verification of documents. In the said letter it was directed that the petitioner shall produce all the certificates including the OBC certificate which should have been issued before the date of verification. On receipt of the said letter petitioner applied for a fresh OBC certificate before opposite party No. 3 on 1.9.2015 which was registered as Misc. Certificate Case No. e-OBC/582 of 2015. The caste of the petitioner is spelt as "Badhei" in Odia vernacular. In English it is also written as "Badhai". The caste "Badhai" has been included in the list of back ward class by the Government of India. The opposite party No. 3 on different occasion had issued OBC certificate in favour of the petitioner by indicating his caste as "Badhai" but in the impugned order the opposite party No. 3 rejected the application of the petitioner to issue such certificate on the ground that the petitioner's caste being "Badhei" not "Badhai". Hence "Badhei" as not been included in the OBC list he rejected the application of the petitioner for issuance of a caste certificate illegally."

2. A counter affidavit filed on behalf of the opposite parties justifying the impugned order passed by opposite party No. 3. It is also stated that the SEBC list was prepared by the State of Orissa as per the recommendation of Orissa State Commission for Backward Classes (OSCBC) and copy of the State and central list of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes of Orissa filed as Annexure-A series. In view of the said list the caste certificate issued till 2013 as "Badhai" even though their revenue record of right it was written as "Badhei". The Government has also received letter from the State Coordinator, NCSC from which it came to the notice of the Government that people of "Badhei" caste received OBC certificate as "Badhai" and as per Section 9(1) of Chapter-III of Orissa State Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993 earlier as per the OSCBC is empowered to recommend inclusion/exclusion of any caste in the SEBC list. Accordingly after receiving the said letter from the National Commission for Scheduled Caste, the Government of Orissa issued a letter on 18.4.2015 clarifying the position that "Badhai" caste has been included in the Central list of OBC. Thereafter the concerned authorities have not issued any caste certificate in respect of "Badhei".

3. It is also contended by the opposite parties that before amendment brought in the OBC list at serial No. 4 of the Central list objection was raised from various quarter to consider some synonymous caste of "Badhai" to be included in the Cent