The main legal point established in the judgment is the entitlement of privileges for a Scheduled Caste category upon migration to another state where the same caste has been separately notified.

The petitioners have filed this petition being aggrieved by order dated 3-7-2006 passed by the High Power State Level Committee for screening of caste certificates wherein it has directed to initiate proceedings against the petitioners for cancellation of their caste certificates.

2. The brief facts, leading to the filing of the present petition, are that the petitioners are the children of Late Shri Ram Singh, who undisputedly was a resident of Uttar Pradesh. It is also undisputed that he belonged to the Chamar Caste which was notified as a Scheduled Caste in the Presidential notification issued under Article 341 of the Constitution of India for the State of Uttar Pradesh.

It is stated that the petitioners' father was working as a Train Examiner with the railways and was posted at Jabalpur wherein the petitioner No. 1 was born on 11-4-1961 and the petitioner No. 2 was born on 16-2-1973 while the petitioner No. 3 was born on 27-6-1975 at Katni. On the basis of the entries in the service record of the petitioners' father the petitioners obtained caste certificates from the authority in the State of M. P. On the basis of the caste certificates, the petitioner No. 1 got admission in the Medical College as a Scheduled Caste candidate and has obtained M.B.B.S Degree from Rani Durgavati Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur; the petitioner No. 2 has obtained a Bachelor of Engineering Degree as a Scheduled Caste candidate from Awdhesh Pratap Singh Vishwa Vidyalaya, Rewa; and the petitioner No. 3 has obtained a Bachelor of Engineering Degree as a Scheduled Caste candidate from Vikram University, Ujjain.

3. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioners that as the petitioners were born and brought up in the State of M. P. and as their father belonged to the Chamar, Scheduled Caste category, which was notified as such in the State of U. P. and as the same is also notified as a Scheduled Caste in the State of M.P., therefore, the petitioners are entitled to enjoy all rights, benefits and privileges available to Chamar, Scheduled Caste, notified in the State of M.P. It is stated that some persons made a complaint against the caste certificate issued to the petitioners before the Director General of Police, Madhya Pradesh, who referred the complaint on 17-2-2003 to the competent authority for enquiry and at the same time an offence was also registered against the petitioners at Bhopal.

4. It is stated that as the petitioners' father was alive at the relevant point of time, a show cause notice was issued to him and he had filed a detailed reply specifically stating therein that the petitioners' father belonged to the Chamar caste which was notified as Scheduled Caste in the State of U.P.; that he had migrated thereafter to the State of M.P.; that all the three children were born to him in the State of M.P. and as the Chamar caste was also notified as a Scheduled Caste in the State of M.P., therefore, there was no illegality or fraud committed [ by the petitioners in obtaining the caste certificate.

5. It is stated that the matter was ultimately taken up by the High Power State Level Committee constituted for making enquiries into such complaints, pursuant to the decision of the Supreme Court rendered in the case of Kumari Madhuri Patil and another vs. Addl. Commissioner, Tribal Development and others, AIR 1995 SC 94, which issued notices to the petitioners who appeared before the Committee and also got their statements recorded before it again | reiterating the stand that they had taken before the authorities and supported the same with documents. The petitioners also brought to the notice of the authorities the old circulars of the State of M.P. dated 4-5-1987 and the circular dated 1-4-1998 issued by the Government of India wherein benefit to migrated Scheduled Caste persons was given by the State as well as the Union.

6. The petitioners have also brought on record and has relied upon the circular issued by the Union of India dated