The authority to verify Caste Certificates and the jurisdiction to cancel or issue fresh certificates lies with the Caste Scrutiny Committee under the Government Order dated 28.02.2011, unless obtained by fraud or by concealing relevant facts.

JUDGMENT :

Siddhartha Varma, J.

Heard learned counsel for the parties.

1. The petitioner who claimed himself to be a Gond with a permanent domicile of Village Kasamriya, District Maharajganj had a Caste Certificate of being a Scheduled Caste which was dated 6.6.1996. However, when the parliament in the exercise of its power under Article 342(2) of the Constitution of India brought the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Orders (Amendment) Act, 2002 and had considered Gond Caste residing in the District Maharajganj to be of the Scheduled Tribe, the petitioner again applied for a certificate holding that the petitioner was of the Scheduled Tribe. When the Tehsildar who was adjudicating the matter held that the petitioner was not of the Gond Caste but was of the Kahar caste, the petitioner challenged the matter before the District level Caste Scrutiny Committee, Maharajganj. On 04.10.2014 the District level Caste Scrutiny Committee, Maharajganj remitted the matter back to the Tehsildar for examining the evidence and directed him to reconsider the evidence and thereafter to issue the Caste Certificate in accordance with law. On 27.11.2014, the Tehsildar issued a Caste Certificate to the petitioner which indicated that the petitioner was of the Scheduled Tribe. The Caste Certificate according to the petitioner which was issued on 27.11.2014 was a certificate, which was issued by hand and since there were subsequent Government Orders which desired that a candidate had to have a Caste Certificate “Online” the petitioner applied again for the issuing of a Caste Certificate “On-line”. The petitioner alongwith certain other individuals who were also of the Scheduled Tribe applied for the issuing of the Caste Certificate On-line. The applications, however, were rejected in a mechanical manner and, therefore, the petitioner along with certain other individuals filed a writ petition being Writ-C No. 15552 of 2020 (Anoop Kumar Gond and 70 Others vs. State of U.P. and 4 Others), which was disposed of on 12.10.2020 with the following order:-

“This writ petition has been filed, inter alia, for the following relief;

"(i) Issue a writ order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to take into consideration the Census-1891 for issuance of Scheduled Tribe certificate to the petitioners."

Learned counsel for the petitioners stated that the petitioners have filed applications before the concerned Tehsildars for issuance of Caste Certificates but till date no order has been passed.

Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.

Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, we grant liberty to the petitioners to make a comprehensive representation before the respondent-Tehsildars for passing appropriate orders on their applications filed for issuance of Caste Certificates within two weeks from today along with a copy of this order enclosing therewith a copy of the writ petition and its annexures and, if any such representation is made, the said authority shall make all endeavour to consider and pass appropriate orders on the same in accordance with law expeditiously preferably within 60 days from the date of receipt of the said representation.

The writ petition stands disposed of. ”

2. Thereafter, in pursuance of the High Court's order, the impugned order dated 26.2.2021 was passed by the Tehsildar-Sadar, District Maharajganj. His order has been based on a certain enquiry report of the revenue authorities. Since the orders of the Tehsildar had rejected the claim of the petitioner to be declared as a Gond, which was Scheduled Tribe and he had in fact considered him as “Kahar”, the petitioner has filed the instant writ petition. Learned counsel for the petitioner states that when earlier the Tehsildar on 27.11.2014 had already passed an order to the ef