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2004(2) JLJ 52
S.P. Khare, J.
Sudhir Batham and others v. M.P. State Level Committee and others
W.P. No. 2074 of 2002;
Decided on 9.5.2003.
The petitioners served the respondent No.2 for about a decade and then without any hearing to them the Collector communicated to the respondent No.2 that the caste certificates issued in their favour are not genuine. Their services were terminated. The Collector was directed to make a deeper probe by the Chief Minister‘s Secretariate and then came his two reports in succession that the certificates are genuine and the petitioners are residents of Bhopal as their parents resided there in the year 1950. Before this somersault by the Collector the axe had fallen on the petitioners. On a direction by this Court, the Committee came to be seized of the issue. The petitioners produced the certificates, documents and affidavits of the persons concerned before the Committee. The entire material was made over to the SP and he conducted the investigation and inquiry as per procedure laid down by the Supreme Court. The SP submitted a detailed report which is very informative and based on the relevant date and material. [Para 12
Held : The view taken by the Committee is highly technical and perverse and there were not sufficient reasons to discard the report of the SP which was well reasoned, supported by the two reports of the Collector. It is in this state of affairs, this Court has a duty to interfere to advance the cause of justice. [Para 12
(2) Constitution of India--Art. 341--Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 --Dhobis residing in Bhopal, Sehore and Raisen Districts--are included in the list of Scheduled Castes--High Court can direct the Committee to decide controversy, if any. AIR 1995 SC 94 followed. [Para 2
(3) Constitution of India--Arts. 341 and 342--specification of Castes and Tribes under Arts. 341 and 342--may be in respect of part of the State and not the entire State. AIR 2001 SC 393 followed. [Para 9
(4) Constitution of India--Arts. 341 and 342--procedure for issuance of social status certificates, their scrutiny and approval--laid down by Supreme Court--State Governments have been directed to constitute a Committee. AIR 1995 SC 94 followed. [Para 9
(5) Constitution of India--Arts. 226, 341 and 342--question of Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes--Committee should accept reports of Police Superintendent or Vigilance Officer--Court will interfere when the findings are perverse.
There should be proper evaluation of the evidence. The finding should not be perverse or unreasonable. The Court would interfere in its finding only if it is perverse or is such which no reasonable man would arrive at on the material before it. If the finding has been reached after proper appreciation of evidence, the Court would not sit in appeal over it. The Committee must attach due weight to the report of the SP or vigilance officer which is submitted after proper investigation and inquiry if it is in favour of the candidate unless there are good grounds and sufficient material to take a contrary view. If there is no material to arrive at a different conclusion, the report of the SP or vigilance officer, if it inspires confidence must be accepted. AIR 1996 SC 1338 followed. [Para 11
(6) Evidence Act, 1872--S.114--if state of affairs is shown to exist -- presumption of its continuity backward and forward can be drawn. AIR 1966 SC 605 followed. [Para 12
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¼4½ Hkkjr dk lafo/kku&vuq- 341 rFkk 342&lkekftd çkfLFkfr çek.ki= tkjh djus] mudh laoh{kk djus rFkk muds vuqeksnu dh çfØ;k&mPpre U;k;ky; }kjk vf/kdfFkr&jkT ljdkjksa dks lfefr xfBr djus ds funs‘k fn, x, gSaA , vkb vkj 1995 ,l lh 94 vuqlfjrA ¼iSjk 9½
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lk{; dk mfpr ewY;kadu gksuk pkfg,A fu"d"kZ foi;ZLr vFkok v;qfDr;qDr ugha gksuk pkfg,A U;k;ky; mlds fu"d"kZ esa rc gh gLr{ksi djsxk tc og foi;ZLr gks vFkok ,slk gks tks dksbZ Hkh ;qfDr;qDr O;fDr vius le{k lkexzh ds vk/kkj ij ugha fudkyrkA ;fn fu"d"kZ lk{; ds mfpr foospu ds i‘pkr~ fudkyk x;k gS rc U;k;ky; mldh vihy esa gLr{ksi ugha djsxkA ;fn og vH;FkhZ ds i{k esa gSa rc lfefr dks iqfyl v/kh{kd vFkok lrdZrk vf/kdkjh dh fjiksVZ dks lE;d~ egRo nsuk gksrk gS tks mfpr vUos"k.k vkSj tk¡p ds i‘pkr~ is‘k dh tkrh gS] tc rd dh rRçfrdwy n`f"Vdks.k viukus ds fy, Bksl vk/kkj vkSj i;kZIr lkexzh ugha gksA ;fn fHkUu fu"d"kZ ij igq¡pus ds fy, lkexzh ugha gS rc iqfyl v/kh{kd vFkok lrdZrk vf/kdkjh dh fjiksVZ] ;fn mlls fo‘okl mRiUu gksrk gS] Lohdkj djuk gksrh gSA , vkb vkj 1996 ,l lh 1338 vuqlfjrA ¼iSjk 11½
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1. This is a writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India for quashing the report dated 27.3.2002 of respondent No.1 State Level Committee (hereinafter to be referred to as the Committee) and subsequent orders of the respondents No.3 and 4 based thereon and for a direction to respondent No.2 Maulana Azad College of Technology, Bhopal to reinstate the petitioners in service with all consequential benefits.
2. The petitioners were the employees of Maulana Azad College of Technology, Bhopal. Petitioner No.1 Sudhir Batham was appointed on 9.8.1988. Petitioner No.2 Ranjeet Singh was appointed on 3.3.1992 and petitioner No.3 Manmohan Rajak was appointed on 18.31992. They were confirmed on 23.2.1996. They belong to dhobi caste. They secured employment as Scheduled Caste candidates on the basis of the certificates issued in their favour by the competent authorities. They claim that they and their forefathers were residents of Bhopal. dhobis residing in Bhopal, Sehore and Raisen districts are included in the list of Scheduled Castes given in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 issued under Article 341 of the Constitution of India. The services of the petitioners were terminated by order dated 20.4.2000. It was done on the report dated 20.1.2000 of the Collector, Bhopal that the caste certificates issued in favour of the petitioners are false and fictitious. They challenged the termination order by filing Writ Petition No. 2666 of 2000 before this Court. During the pendency of that writ petition, the Collector, Bhopal communicated to the respondent No.2 Maulana Azad College of Technology that the caste certificate issued in favour of petitioner No. 1 Sudhir Batham is genuine and he belongs to Scheduled Caste. It was further reported by the Collector that the enquiry in respect of the caste certificates of petitioners No.2 and 3 Ranjeet Singh and Manmohan Rajak was under process. By order dated 26.6.2001 in the writ petition, the committee was directed to verify the caste certificates issued to the petitioners after giving them an opportunity of hearing as per decision of the Supreme Court in Madhuri Patil v. Additional Commissioner AIR 1995 SC 94. The committee was directed to decide the controversy within three months. It was directed that in case the committee finds that the petitioners belong to Scheduled Caste, they "shall be reinstated in service", subject to any order of the competent authority/Court.
3. The petitioners appeared before the committee and submitted the certificates issued in their favour earlier along with affidavits and documents to support their plea that their forefathers were residents of Bhopal at the time the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 came into force. All these documents and affidavits were sent by the committee to the Superintendent of Police, Bhopal (SP) for investigation and inquiry as per procedure laid down by the Supreme Court in the decision referred above. The S P, after the investigation and inquiry, submitted his report dated 11.9.2001 (Annexure P-2) before the committee. It is a detailed and exhaustive report. According to this report, the petitioners were born at Bhopal and their primary education took place at Bhopal. The report is very clear and specific on the point that the petitioners and their forefathers were residents of Bhopal and the caste certificates issued in their favour are genuine. It appears from this report that the petitioners, after the termination of their services, had brought their grievance to the notice of the Chief Minister of the State and his Secretariate by the letter dated 24.2.2000 directed Collector, Bhopal to make a fresh inquiry in this respect. The Collector, Bhopal, after a fresh and minute inquiry, sent the reports dated 26.7.2000 and 8.1.2001 in which it was stated that the caste certificates issued in favour of the petitioners are genuine and they and their forefathers were residents of Bhopal. A report
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