Dismissal without proper inquiry is legally infirm; a caste certificate issued by competent authority cannot be deemed fraudulent without evidence.

ORAL ORDER

(PER: HON'BLE MR JUSTICE KRISHNA S DIXIT)

Petitioner, a civil servant is knocking at the doors of Writ Court for laying a challenge to the State Administrative Tribunal’s common order dated 08.07.2020 whereby her Application No.745/2012 c/w Application No.1196/2013 have been negatived. In the former, she had challenged the Government Order dated 25.01.2012 issued by the 2nd respondent-Desk Officer whereby she has been dismissed from service on the ground that she had secured public employment on the basis of a fraudulently obtained Caste Certificate in terms of Rule 11 of Karnataka Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules , 1957. In the later, she had sought for a direction for considering her candidature for promotion to the post of Joint Commissioner of Commercial Taxes.

2. Foundational facts of the case:

2.1 Petitioner was issued a Social Status Certificate (Kotegar-SC) dated 30.08.1991 in the light of orders passed inter alia in W.P.No.8234/1983, W.A.No.2722/1991 & W.A.No.851/1994. On the basis of caste certificate, she was appointed as Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes under Scheduled Caste quota on 21.09.1993. In the normative course when the caste certificate was examined by the District Caste Verification Committee, it was held that the petitioner belonged to Kotegar Community which is not declared as SC and therefore Caste Verification Certificate was denied vide order dated 17.06.2004. The Committee recommended that she be continued in the employment under GM category. In terms of said recommendation petitioner was continued in the employment vide order dated 22.06.2005 and later she came to be promoted as Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes under GM category in the year 2006.

2.2 When above was the position, one Mr.Venkatesh Bovi complained to the Lokayukta in 2008 that the petitioner had secured employment by producing a false caste certificate. The Lokayukta referred the matter to the respondent-CRE Cell for examination, which found the complaint true and therefore recommended for the dismissal of petitioner from service. The Lokayukta issued a Show Cause Notice dated 29.01.2009 calling for explanation from her and the petitioner vide reply dated 19.02.2009 denied the allegations of the complainant.

2.3 Strangely enough, petitioner was dismissed from service on the report submitted by the respondent-CRE Cell, without holding any enquiry. Therefore she filed Application No.745 of 2012 wherein the Tribunal granted interim order to continue her in service. She had also filed Application No.1196/2013 seeking a direction for promoting her as JCCT. Both the applications having been negatived, the present petition is placed at our hands.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner seeks to falter the impugned order of the Tribunal on the following grounds:

(i) Dismissal of an employee without holding any disciplinary proceeding in the alleged charge of securing public employment by producing a fraudulently obtained caste certificate is liable to be voided.

(ii) During the relevant period, there was a practice & procedure of treating the Koteyar community as Kotegar which is enlisted as a Scheduled Caste in the State of Karnataka and that the petitioner having duly applied to the Tahsildar, had obtained Scheduled Caste Certificate; this cannot be said to have been obtained by fraud & fabrication; in fact, the District Caste Verification Committee itself had recommended to continue her in employment under GM quota and the Government had not only accepted the same but had accorded promotion too.

(iii) The Apex Court in K.NIRMALA vs. CANARA BANK 2024 SCC OnLine SC 2273 has accorded relief to similarly placed employees in the bank by quashing the show cause notices issued to them proposing dismissal from service; this has been done after adverting to extant State Government Orders that are rat