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Judgment
Rule. learned AGP waives service of rule on behalf of respondent State.
This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is filed with the prayer to challenge the order dated 28.05.2015 (Annexure A) by which
the Scrutiny Committee of Government of Gujarat has effectively cancelled the caste certificate of the petitioner. The petitioner, who was an elected
counselor, had contested the election as a Schedule Caste Candidate belonging to Hindu-Rohit Caste which is recognised as Schedule Caste.
Learned advocate for the petitioner submits that the caste certificate, which was issued to the petitioner, was cancelled by the impugned elaborate
order, but containing no substance and merely recorded the data collected by the Vigilance Cell.
It is submitted that the Scrutiny Committee has failed to consider the contentions of the petitioner to the extent that the father of the petitioner, who
also belonged to the Scheduled Caste, had converted to Christianity, but the other family members i.e. the mother of the petitioner, the petitioner
himself and the siblings had never adopted Christianity and continued to follow the practice of Hindu (Hindu Rohit). He drew the attention of this
Court to the School Leaving Certificates and other documents from the Government records, where the petitioner is shown belonging to Hindu Rohit
Community. Despite this, without considering the documents produced by the petitioner, the decision is taken by the Scrutiny Committee.
It is also submitted that the Memorandum issued by the Government of India in connection with issue of Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribes
certificates, a provision is made where a descendant of a convert can be accepted back into the original Schedule Caste and if, certain evidence is
provided, then such descendants of the convert is to be accepted as the member of such caste. It is submitted that though the petitioner had
specifically contended this and had also produced the certificate issued by the Rohit Seva Samaj (636) District Anand, wherein it is categorically
mentioned that the family members including the father of the petitioenr have been accepted in the fold of Hindu Rohit Caste, the said contention is not
at all addressed by the Scrutiny Committee. It is lastly submitted that the issue stands covered by decision of the Apex Court in case of K.P. MANU
V/s. CHAIRMAN, SCRUTINY COMMITTEE reported in AIR 2015 SC 1402.
Learned AGP opposes the ground of the petition by contending inter alia that though the petitioner may not have converted to Christianity yet
before the Scrutiny Committee, the evidence which was produced by the petitioner, at the time of receiving the Caste Certificate as Schedule Caste
the documents in support were not produced before the Scrutiny Committee. The inquiry carried out by the Scrutiny Committee lead to the conclusion
that such documents, which were allegedly produced along with the application for receiving the Caste Certificate, are either non-existent or are not
found from the record of the authority from which it was received and produced. It is, therefore, submitted that the Scrutiny Committee was justified
in doubting the certificate of Schedule Caste issued to the petitioner by the authority and therefore such certificate is cancelled.
I have heard learned advocate for the respective parties and I have perused the documents on record. The foundation on which the Scrutiny
Committee has proceeded appears to be misdirected as the Scrutiny Committee has taken into consideration only the issue whether the Caste
Certificate issued to the petitioner was issued on the basis of proper and genuine documents. The purpose for which the Scrutiny Committee was
constituted under the judgment of the Apex Court in case of KUMARI MADHURI PATIL AND & ANR V/S ADDL. COMMR. TRIBAL
DEVELOPMENT, THANE & OTHERS reported in (1997) 5 SCC 437 goes beyond the scope to which the Scrutiny Committee has restricted itself
in this case. What is required to be decided is whether the petitioner belongs to the Schedule Caste Community and such decision is to be based on the
inquiry which should also include the factors pertaining to the practice followed by the petitioner and his family members, factors like whether the
petitioner has himself converted to any other religion and if converted whether he has been re-converted as provided under the law and all this aspects
are independent of the fact that whether a Caste Certificate is issued by any authority or not. In the instant case also, the exercise of the Committee is
lacking not only that when the specific contention is raised about the re-conversion of the petitioner as per the father of the petitioner, as per the
Memorandum provided, the same ought to have been considered.
The Memorandum issued by the Government of India dated 2nd MAY 1975 on the subject of the issue of Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribes
Certificates specifically covers the cases of the descendants of Schedule Caste converts Clause 4 reads as under:
“(i) Where a Scheduled Caste person gets converted to a religion other than Hinduism or Sikhism and then reconverts himself back to Hinduism or
Sikhism, he will be deemed to have reverted to his original Scheduled Caste, if he is accepted by the members of that particular caste as one among
them.
(ii) In the case of a descendent of a Scheduled Caste convert, the more fact of conversion to Hinduism or Sikhism will not be sufficient to entitle him
to be regarded as a member of the Scheduled Caste to which his forefathers belonged. It will have to be established that such a convert has been
accepted by members of the caste claimed as one among themselves and has thus become a member of that caste.â€
As per Clause 4(II) which covers the case of the petitioner as the petitioner's father had re-converted to Schedule Caste for which the fact of the
father of the petitioner and other family members being accepted by the members of the Rohit Community is evident from the certificate issued at
Annexure-
I. The judgment of the Apex Court in case of K.P.MANU V/s. Supra in paragraph no.32, 34 and 36 the Court has held as under:
“32. We have referred to the aforesaid materials and the observations singularly for the purpose that there has been detailed study to indicate the
Scheduled Castes persons belonging to Hindu religion, who had embraced Christianity with some kind of hope or aspiration, have remained socially,
educationally and economically backward. The Constitution Bench in Y. Mohan Rao (supra) has clearly laid down that if a person born to Christian
parents, who, belonging to Scheduled Caste had converted themselves to Christianity, the said person on reconversion to his religion and on
acceptance by his community with a further rider that he would practise the customs and traditions of the caste, would be treated as a member of the
said Scheduled Caste and if the said caste is one of the castes falling within the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950, then he will be treated
as a Scheduled Caste.
In our considered opinion, three things that need to be established by a person who claims to be a beneficiary of the caste certificate are (i) there
must be absolutely clear cut proof that he belongs to the caste that has been recognised by the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950; (ii) there
has been reconversion to the original religion to which the parents and earlier generations had belonged; and (iii) there has to be evidence establishing
the acceptance by the community. Each aspect according to us is very significant, and if one is not substantiated, the recognition would not be
possible.
As far as the community acceptance is concerned, Mr. Naphade has drawn our attention to the enquiry report submitted by the expert agency,
conclusion of which reads thus:
CONCLUSION Thus, the anthropological study has revealed that the claimant K.P. Manu's case father K.P. Paulose and his mother Kunjamma
belong to Christian Community of Pulayan origin. The investigation has revealed they still profess Christianity.
In the Government Circular No. 18421/E2/87 SCSTDD dated 15.12.1987 it has been made clear that the religious status of parents will not affect the
caste status of neo-converts provided they become major and copy of the said GO is marked here as Document-7. So the claimant after becoming
major embraced Hinduism and revived his caste. The caste organisation to which he belongs has also accepted his conversion. It has been found that
he has a registered marriage with Sylamma belonging to Christian community of Pulayan origin. The claimant and his children do not follow Christian
religion.â€
Considering the aforesaid, this Court is of the view that the Scrutiny Committee has failed to take into consideration the documents produced by
the petitioner which are relevant for the purpose of establishing whether the petitioner practices and is belonging to the Hindu Rohit Community and
has proceeded to only examine the nature of evidence and its genuineness when the same were produced before the authority while issuing the Caste
Certificate.
In view of the aforesaid, decision of the Scrutiny Committee dated 28.05.2015 is ordered to be quashed and set aside. The case is relegated back
to the Scrutiny Committee to decide afresh after taking into consideration the stand taken by the petitioner with regard to the re-conversion of the
father of the petitioner to Hindu Rohit Schedule Caste and the fact that the petitioner therefore continues to belong to the Schedule Caste. The
decision of the Scrutiny Committee be taken within a period of three months of the receipt of the writ of the order of this Court after giving
opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. Interim relief granted earlier to continue till the decision of the Scrutiny Committee.
With the aforesaid, the petition is allowed. Rule is made absolute to the aforesaid extent. Direct Service is permitted.