(Reserved on 11.11.2025)

CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL JABALPUR BENCH (Circuit Sitting Bilaspur)

Original Application No. 188 of 2022 Jabalpur, this the 05th day of December, 2025 HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE AKHIL KUMAR SRIVASTAVA, JUDICIAL MEMBER HON’BLE SMT. MALLIKA ARYA, ADMINISTRATIVE MEMBER Ranjeet Singh Bepari, S/o Shri Rajeshwar Prasad Behari, aged about 60 years, working Assistant Personnel Officer/SECR/Raipur, R/o MIG – 5/15, Mansarovar Colony, East Durg, Bhilai – 3, Distt – Durg (CG) -

490021. -Applicant Advocate for the applicant: Shri A.V. Shridhar V e r s u s

1. Union of India though General, South East Central Railway, New G.M.

Building, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh - 495004.

2. Principal Chief Personnel Officer, South East Central Railway, Bilaspur Chhattisgarh - 495004. -Respondents Advocate for the respondents : Shri D.S. Baghel O R D E R Delivered by Akhil Kumar Srivastava, Member (Judicial) :- In the present original application, the applicant seeks to quash the order dated 03.02.2022 passed by the (Annexure A-1), to direct the respondents to allow him continue in service with all consequential benefits.

2. Briefly, the facts of the case are that the applicant having a caste certificate of Scheduled Tribe (sub tribe ‘Gond’) was initially appointed as Senior Clerk vide order dated 28.01.1987. Subsequently, he was promoted to the post of Head Clerk vide order dated 17.01.2003 and was thereafter promoted to the post of Chief Office Superintendent vide order dated 30.01.2006. Thereafter, on qualifying the department examination against 70% quota, the applicant was promoted to the post of Assistant Personnel Officer (Annexure A-4). The applicant claims that his initial appointment as well as subsequent promotions was made against unreserved category post. On a complaints made by some person in the year 2015 the Higher Power Caste Scrutiny Committee vide its order dated 17.08.2015 cancelled the caste certificate issued to the applicant on 23.08.1984 observing that the applicant could not prove that he belongs to Scheduled Tribe category sub tribe 'Gond'. Thereafter, in pursuance to the cancellation of the caste certificate a Show Cause Notice dated 26.02.2016 was issued to the applicant seeking reply as to why his services be not terminated for producing false caste certificate and as to why penal action be not initiated against the applicant (Annexure A-8). The applicants states that since the caste certificate being old records was not in his possession, he made application on 22.03.2016 under RTI before the Competent Authority for obtaining the caste certificate but due to non- availability of record, same was not supplied to him. Subsequently pursuant to the order passed by this Tribunal in OA No. 462/2016 filed by the applicant, he was granted personal hearing on and was further directed to submit a detail narration of facts which he submitted on 21.05.2018 (Annexure A-13). Thereafter, at the fag end service career, the respondents vide order dated 03.02.2022 (Annexure A-1) terminated his service while he was due to superannuate in the month of March, 2022.

3. Being aggrieved, the applicant has filed the present Original Application inter alia on the ground that there is no allegation that that the certificate was false, fabricated or manipulated by concealment or otherwise and obtained the initial appointment or subsequent promotions by using the same as he was recruited against unreserved category post on merits and no relaxation in age or otherwise was obtained by him. Even the Caste Scrutiny Committee has not observed that certificate issued to the applicant was false and therefore reliance of the respondents on false caste certificate is baseless. Further, if the applicant was seeking the benefit of caste certificate, the respondent was under an obligation to get the caste certificate verified at the relevant point of time and there is no proper explanation for such delay. In support of his claim, the learned counsel for