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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, K.M. JOSEPH, JJ.
Dist. Collector Satara & Anr. – Appellants
Versus
Mangesh Nivrutti Kashid – Respondent
Civil Appeal No. 2723, 2727 – 2732, 2734 of 2015
Decided on : 01-10-2019
(A) Constitution of India – Articles 15 and 16 – Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000 – Sections 6 and 18 – Maharashtra Scheduled Tribes (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Certificate Rules, 2003 – Rule 10 – Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Rules, 2012 – Rule 12 – Issuance of Notification dated 30.7.2011, by Social Justice, Special Assistance Department of State of Maharashtra – Reservation in public employment – Issuance of caste certificates for obtaining employment and admission to educational institutions – Any admission wrongly gained, or employment wrongly obtained, on the basis of a false social status certificate automatically has effect of depriving a genuine person for whose benefit rights have been conferred under Constitution – Simultaneously, in view of reservation, a General Category candidate loses seat to an ineligible candidate who really does not belong to SC/ST community – Act of 2000, having a wider compass qua all certificates to be issued – purpose of any judicial legislation is to fill a vacuum. It does not preclude legislators from enacting law – Judicial activism or judicial legislation emerged on account of existence of vacuum and it was opined that Supreme Court would not be constrained to fold its hands in despair and plead its inability to help citizen who has come before it for judicial redressal in such a situation – There is ample power conferred by Article 32, read with Article 142 of Constitution to make orders which have effect of law by virtue of Article 141 of Constitution, by issuing directions to fill vacuum till such time as legislature steps in to cover gaps, or executive discharges its role – So long as procedure made under notification or legislation meets requirement of law, it cannot be said that Committee has to be only as per the directions of this Court – Composition of Committee was made in pursuance of specific statutory power – It was also to subserve larger issue of setting up different committees by decentralizing process to meet requirement of verification of certificates – Once legislature lays down a legislative policy and confers discretion upon administrative agency for the execution of such policy, it is up to agency to work out details within framework of policy. (Paras 3, 12, 19, 25 and 26)
(B) Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000 – Sections 6 and 18 – Maharashtra Scheduled Tribes (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Certificate Rules, 2003 – Rule 10 – Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Rules, 2012 – Rule 12 – Issuance of Notification dated 30.7.2011, by Social Justice, Special Assistance Department of State of Maharashtra – Reservation in public employment – Issuance of caste certificates for obtaining employment and admission to educational institutions – Exercise of issuance of certificates cannot be a casual one – Scrutiny Committee constituted to issue validity certificates must, at the slightest doubt take assistance of Vigilance Cell to ensure that non-entitled persons do not get benefitted at the cost of entitled persons – This is a process which will be so followed under Rules of 2012 – Exercise so undertaken cannot be upheld and has to be quashed with direction to carry out such exercise afresh – It will be for Caste Scrutiny Committee to carry out such exercise, while notifying parties concerned, through appropriate public notices in this behalf. (Paras 27, 28, 29 and 33)
Facts of the Case:
There were three kinds of writ petitions filed before the High Court. The first set of writ petitioners were those who intended to participate in the ensuing elections of local Government, even though they did not, at that stage, have a caste validity certificate. Prayer was for relaxation of the condition to produce the caste validity certificate at the time of scrutiny, which had been made mandatory (though that certificate once issued was to remain valid for all purposes). The second set of writ petitioners were those whose caste certificates were invalidated by the Scrutiny Committees, and they sought to challenge the decision with a direction to the Returning Officer to allow them to participate in the ensuing elections. The third set of petitioners were those who challenged the Caste Validity Certificates granted to the candidates who were party respondents in both petitions, on the ground that the said certificates were obtained by fraud, with a prayer for direction to the Election Commission to reject the nomination papers of such candidates. The impugned judgment has been rendered in the context of the third set of petitioners. The certificates in question were alleged to have been obtained without vigilance reports and within a very short period of time.
Findings of the Court:
Fresh exercise has to be undertaken within a period of six (6) months from today, i.e., on or before 31.3.2020. Till this exercise is completed, the existing certificates issued for the interregnum period would hold good. The exercise would have to be undertaken in respect of all certificates, except those cases where the validity certificate was issued after verification by the Vigilance Cell. We may, however, hasten to add that, in view of the case pointed out to us, where the Vigilance Cell opined otherwise and yet a caste validity certificate has been issued, exercise may be carried out afresh. Thus, wherever there is an adverse report of Vigilance Cell and yet caste validity certificate has been issued the exercise has to be carried out afresh.
Result : Appeals allowed.
JUDGMENT :
SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.
1. The freedom at midnight was followed by the framing of the Indian Constitution. The Constitution of India (for short ‘the Constitution’) took special care, given the social and economic scenario of our country, to provide for certain special benefits and privileges for persons from the under-privileged communities, i.e., the Scheduled Castes (for short ‘SCs’) and the Scheduled Tribes (for short ‘STs’). Thus, while prohibiting discrimination on grounds inter alia of race and caste, under Article 15 of the Constitution, while providing for equality of opportunity in matters of public employment under Article 16 of the Constitution, an enabling provision was made for providing reservation to people of these categories. In fact, Article 17, abolishing untouchability, was one more provision in this direction.
2. In the implementation of the aforesaid objectives, it became necessary to issue caste certificates for obtaining employment and admission to educational institutions. Unfortunately, this gave rise to vast area of malpractice as non-entitled persons managed to obtain such certificates for availing the benefits. This endemic problem forms the basis for the jurisprudential discussion in Kumari Madhuri Patil & Anr. v. Additional Commissioner, Tribal Development & Ors, (1994) 6 SCC 241 (Kumari Madhuri Patil).
3. The facts in Kumari Madhuri Patil, [(supra)] case itself are an illustration of this problem. The appellant before the Court was seeking a Caste Certificate on the basis of a Caste Certificate obtained by her sister, who was claiming on the basis of their father having obtained caste certificate, certifying him to be of ‘Hindu Koli’ caste. On investigation, the caste claims were found to be wrong and the certificates issued to the appellant therein and her sister were cancelled. This Court in the Kumari Madhuri Patil [(supra)] case, while discussing the various provisions of the Constitution, emphasised that the State was enjoined under our constitutional scheme to provide facilities and opportunities to the SCs and STs for education and employment, so as to result in economic improvement, resulting in excellence, equality of status and the right to live in dignity. Thus, any admission wrongly gained, or employment wrongly obtained, on the basis of a false social status certificate automatically has the effect of depriving a genuine person for whose benefit the rights have been conferred under the Constitution. Simultaneously, in view of the reservation, a General Category candidate loses the seat to an ineligible candidate, who really does not belong to the SC/ST community. No proper procedure or legislation provided for the checks and balances in issuance of these caste certificates and, thus, in the Kumari Madhuri Patil [(supra)] case, it was deemed necessary to issue directions to streamline the procedure for issuance of the social status certificates. There were fifteen (15) directions issued, but the two directions, which are relevant for the controversy raised in the present appeals, are as under:
“4. All the State Governments shall constitute a Committee of three officers, namely, (I) an Additional or Joint Secretary or any officer higher in rank of the Director of the department concerned, (II) the Director, Social Welfare/Tribal Welfare/Backward Class Welfare, as the case may be, and (III) in the case of Scheduled Castes another officer who has intimate knowledge in the verification and issuance of the social status certificates. In the case of the Scheduled Tribes, the Research Officer who has intimate knowledge in identifying the tribes, tribal communities, parts of or groups of tribes or tribal communities.
5. Each Directorate should constitute a vigilance cell consisting of Senior Deputy Superintendent of Police in over-all charge and such number of Police Inspectors to in
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