News Citation : 2024 LN (HC) 2
Bilaspur, November 19, 2024 : The High Court of Chhattisgarh has set aside an order cancelling the Scheduled Tribe caste certificate of a government school lecturer, holding that the caste scrutiny proceedings suffered from serious procedural and jurisdictional flaws and violated principles of natural justice.
In a detailed judgment delivered on November 19, 2024, Justice Bibhu Datta Guru allowed a writ petition filed by Sewa Ram Dhankar, a Lecturer in Hindi, whose Dhangad Scheduled Tribe caste certificate had been cancelled by the High Power Caste Scrutiny Committee in November 2015. The Court found that the committee acted contrary to the Chhattisgarh Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (Regulation of Social Status Certification) Act, 2013 and the rules framed under it.
Dhankar had been issued a caste certificate in 1988 identifying him as belonging to the Dhangad Scheduled Tribe. During his service, complaints were raised alleging that he actually belonged to the Gadariya caste, which falls under the Other Backward Classes category. Acting on a complaint made by the Director of Public Education in 2009, the High Power Caste Scrutiny Committee initiated verification proceedings and ultimately cancelled his certificate, citing the absence of documentary proof prior to the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.
Challenging this decision, the petitioner argued that once the 2013 Act and Rules came into force, caste verification could only be carried out through the statutory procedure laid down under the law. He contended that the High Power Committee had no authority to directly entertain a complaint from the employer without the matter first being examined by the District Level Caste Verification Committee, as mandated under Sections 6 and 7 of the Act.
After examining the record, the High Court agreed. It noted that the impugned order itself showed that the committee had purported to act under the 2013 Act, yet failed to follow its mandatory procedure. The Court held that the High Power Committee could not directly take cognisance of a complaint and initiate an enquiry, and that doing so amounted to a clear jurisdictional error.
The Court also found that the enquiry was conducted largely on the basis of a vigilance report, without affording the petitioner a meaningful opportunity to lead evidence, examine witnesses, or cross-examine those whose statements were relied upon. Emphasising that caste scrutiny proceedings are quasi-judicial in nature, the Court reiterated that adherence to principles of natural justice, including effective cross-examination, is not optional but essential.
Relying on Supreme Court precedents, the High Court observed that earlier guidelines issued in the absence of legislation could not override a statutory framework once enacted. Since Chhattisgarh had a comprehensive law governing caste verification, the committee was bound to strictly comply with it rather than fall back on older administrative schemes.
In light of these findings, the Court quashed the cancellation order dated November 24, 2015, and remitted the matter back to the High Power Caste Scrutiny Committee. The committee has been directed to re-verify the petitioner’s caste certificate afresh, strictly in accordance with the 2013 Act, the Rules, and applicable Supreme Court guidelines, within six months. The writ petition was allowed.
Case Reference : WPC No. 187 of 2016, Sewa Ram Dhankar vs State of Chhattisgarh and Others; Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr. Chandresh Shrivastava, Advocate; Counsel for Respondent Nos. 1 to 3 and 5 to 7 (State): Mr. R.C.S. Deo, Panel Lawyer.