The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes lacks jurisdiction to investigate individual caste status claims, which violates natural justice principles.

1. This writ petition preferred under Arts. 226/227 of the Constitution of India is directed against the proceedings of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the first respondent herein registered in file No. 2 / FCS 2/2001 - SSW - 1 and the 'findings' contained in the report dated 16-10-2001. The petitioner has sought for quashing of the impugned proceedings by writ of certiorari and also prayed for a writ of mandamus to declare the findings contained in the report dated 16-10-2001 as void and inoperative. In addition, the petitioner has sought for a direction restraining the respondents from conducting any proceeding or taking any action pursuant to the complaint filed by the sixth respondent herein or the impugned findings of the first respondent - Commission.

2. The facts of the case leading to filing of this writ petition may be noted in the first instance and they, as stated by the petitioner himself, in brief, are as follows:
The petitioner belongs to a Tribal Community known as 'Kawar / Kanwar' which is notified as Scheduled Tribe under the Constitution Scheduled Tribe Order, 1950. The petitioner's forefathers were resident of a Tribal Hamlet called Jogi Dongari in village Sarbahara, Tahsil Pendra Road, District Bilaspur which is predominantly inhabited by Tribals. As far back as in the year 1967 a social status / caste certificate was issued in favour of the petitioner by the competent officer i.e. Naib Tahsildar, Pendra Road, Bilaspur certifying the petitioner as a member of Kanwar Scheduled Tribe. Subsequently, similar certificates have also been issued to the petitioner, from time to time, by competent authorities. The petitioner was twice elected to Rajya Sabha and contested two Parliamentary elections from Raigarh and Shahdol Parliamentary constituencies. He was successfully elected from 'reserved' constituency of Raigarh. The petitioner successfully contested from Marwahi Vidhan Sabha Constituency in the year 1991 which is a constituency reserved for Scheduled Tribes. In the past, due to political motivation and out of vendetta, some disgruntled persons falsely and frivolously trying to raise question regarding the petitioner's social status, filed a writ petition in the form of Public Interest Litigation in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Bench Indore vide Misc. Petition No. 1417 of 1988 which came to be decided by a Division Bench of that Court on 24-7-1989, dismissing the writ petition. Again, a writ petition being Writ Petition No. 1039 of 2001 was filed in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur and that writ petition was also dismissed by learned Single Bench of that Court vide order dated 24-7-2001 on merit with exemplary cost of Rupees Ten Thousand. Copies of both judgments are annexed to the writ petition as Annexure - P / 1 and Annexure - P / 2, respectively.

3. When the matter stood thus, the petitioner received a letter No. 2 / SCS - 2/200 - SSW - 1 dated 29-8-2001 from the Joint Secretary of the first respondent - Commission, referring to an earlier letter dated 26-7-2001 of the Chairman of the first respondent - Commission, proposing to investigate and enquire into the allegations made by the sixth respondent in his complaint made to the first respondent - Commission that the petitioner does not belong to Scheduled Tribe community but had contested the election to Vidhan Sabha from Tribal Constituency, Marwahi in the year 2001 and that the petitioner obtained a false Scheduled Tribe Certificate.

4. The petitioner on receipt of the above letter dated