The verification of Caste status certificate must be done according to the procedure prescribed by law, affording opportunity to the person likely to be aggrieved by any action to be taken by the authority.

JUDGMENT

1. Heard learned counsel Mr. D. Chakraborty for the petitioner and learned Sr. counsel Mr. S. Deb assisted by learned G.A. Mr. T. Dutta Majumder for the respondents.

2. The petitioner contended that he belonged to ‘Mahishya Das’ community which is recognized as a ‘Scheduled Caste’ Community in the State of Tripura and a certificate was issued in his name after proper inquiry on 17.11.1977. A copy of the said Caste Certificate annexed as Annexure-A to the writ petition. In the year 2002 the District Magistrate and Collector (respondent No. 5) issued a show cause notice to the petitioner asking him to show cause as to why his Scheduled Caste Certificate should not be cancelled and the petitioner submitted his reply to the show cause notice but thereafter by the Memo dated 22.08.2002 his Caste Certificate was cancelled. Aggrieved, the petitioner challenged Memo dated 22.08.2002 by filing WP(C) No. 361 of 2002 in the Agartala Bench of Gauhati High court and by judgment dated 04.01.2006 (common judgment), the High Court quashed the impugned Memo dated 22.08.2002 with the following observation:-

“19. A perusal of the procedure followed by the competent authority in the above noted cases would go to show that the inquiry was done keeping the petitioners or their parents/relatives in dark and without affording any reasonable opportunity to them or their guardians or parents. It is also evident that there was no involvement of any Vigilance Officer or Director of the department in conducting the inquiry. The manner in which the certificates of the petitioners have been cancelled cannot be said to be consistent with the principles of natural justice and, therefore, in my considered view, all those orders impugned herein cancelling the caste certificates of the petitioners are not sustainable in law and consequently, they stand quashed and set aside.

20. All the writ petitions are accordingly allowed in the light of the discussions made above with a direction to the State respondents to refer the cases of the petitioners to the scrutiny committee, which is competent to cause an inquiry to be done in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Supreme Court as noted above and contained in the notification dated 12.12.2003 of the State Government. Till the entire process of inquiry and decision making is completed, the status of the petitioners herein and all the benefits flowing therefrom shall remain unhindered and unaffected.

There shall be no order as to cost.”

2.1 Thereafter a show-cause notice dated 21.02.2007 (Annexure-E to the writ petition) was issued to the petitioner by the Member Secretary of the State Level Scrutiny Committee and in response thereto, the petitioner submitted his show-cause reply on 17.03.2007 (Annexure-F to the writ petition). It is the contention of the petitioner that the Scrutiny Committee did not resort to any inquiry in respect of the Caste Certificate of the petitioner and only after issuing the show-cause notice by an order dated 27.06.2007 passed by the State Level Scrutiny Committee which was communicated by the Member Secretary vide letter dated 27.08.2007 (collectively marked as Annexure-D to the writ petition) cancelled the Caste Certificate of the petitioner and hence, the petitioner filed the writ petition inter alia seeking quashing of the said order dated 27.06.2007 passed by the Scrutiny Committee and communicated by the Member Secretary of the Scrutiny Committee dated 27.08.2007. It is contended by the petitioner that an inquiry was conducted by the State Vigilance Cell which has submitted report that the petitioner belonged to ‘Mahishya Das’ community, a community recognized as Scheduled Caste in the State but the Caste Certificate has been cancelled taking into consideration some inquiry reports of the Sub Divisional Magistrate conducted long before the Caste Certificate was earlier enquired by the District Magistrate which order was quashed by the High Court in WP(C) N