LUCKY DEVABHAI CHAWDAversusMAMLATDAR (RURAL)
- Disposal
- 58-RULE ISSUED & RULE ABSOLUTE/ALLOWED @FH
- Bench
- HEMANT M PRACHCHHAK
Holding
The Court directed the Mamlatdar to decide the petitioner's application and issue a corrected caste certificate within two weeks.
Summary
The petitioner, Lucky Devabhai Chawda, sought a direction from the High Court to have his English caste certificate corrected to reflect the proper spelling of his name, which was erroneously issued as 'Luky'. He belongs to the Rabari Scheduled Tribe and had previously obtained a caste certificate in Gujarati (14‑06‑2011) and English (24‑06‑2011). The petitioner applied to the Mamlatdar on 23‑02‑2026 requesting the correction, but the authority had not acted. The respondent authority, represented by the Additional Government Pleader, acknowledged the issuance of the certificate and indicated that pending applications could be addressed. After considering the submissions, the Court directed the Mamlatdar of Porbandar to decide the petitioner's application and issue a corrected caste certificate within two weeks. The special civil application was consequently disposed of, with the order limited to procedural direction and not a substantive determination on the merit of the caste certificate itself.
Issues considered
- Whether the competent authority should be directed to correct the spelling of the petitioner's name in the English caste certificate.
- Whether the High Court can issue a mandatory direction to the Mamlatdar to issue the corrected certificate within a specified time.
Subjects
Judgment
C/SCA/3937/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 27/03/2026
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 3937 of 2026
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HEMANT M. PRACHCHHAK Sd/-
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Approved for Reporting Yes No
No
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LUCKY DEVABHAI CHAWDA
Versus
MAMLATDAR (RURAL) & ANR.
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Appearance:
NIYATI V VAISHNAV(6168) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MR ADITYA DAVDA AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HEMANT M. PRACHCHHAK
Date : 27/03/2026
JUDGMENT
1. Rule, returnable forthwith. Mr. Aditya Davda, learned
AGP waives service of rule on behalf of the respondents.
2. By the present writ petition, the petitioner is praying
for a direction to issue Caste Certi!cate in English after
rectifying the name from 'Luky' to 'Lucky'.
3. Ms. Niyati V. Vaishnav, learned counsel appearing for
the petitioner submits that the petitioner belongs to
Rabari Caste, which is a Scheduled Tribe Category. He
submits that the petitioner has already been issued the
Caste Certi!cate by the competent authority on
14.06.2011 in Gujarati and 24.6.2011 in English and on
the basis of the said Caste Certi!cate, the petitioner has
applied in advertisement for appointment as Junior
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C/SCA/3937/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 27/03/2026
Engineer in Railway Recruitment Board. Learned counsel
for the petitioner further submits that, subsequently, the
petitioner was informed that the name mentioned in the
English copy of the Caste Certi!cate does not tally,
spelling-wise, with other documents, and he was asked to
produce a corrected copy of the Caste Certi!cate. She
submits that the name of the petitioner is ‘Lucky’, but by
mistake, while issuing the English copy of the Caste
Certi!cate, the spelling of the name has been mentioned
as ‘Luky’.
3.1 Learned counsel for the petitioner further submits
that the petitioner has made an application before the
authority vide letter dated 23.02.2026, requesting
correction of the spelling of his name. She submits that
the petitioner has also produced all other documents
showing the correct spelling of his name as ‘Lucky’ and
has requested the authorities to carry out the necessary
correction; however, the same has not yet been done by
the authority.
4. Mr. Aditya Davda, learned AGP appearing for the
respondent authorities submits that the petitioner has
already been issued the Caste Certi!cate. He submits
that if the application of the petitioner is pending
consideration for issuance of Caste Certi!cate for
correction in spelling then appropriate orders may be
passed.
5. Considered the submissions and perused the
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C/SCA/3937/2026 JUDGMENT DATED: 27/03/2026
documents on record. To secure the appointment as
Junior Engineer, the petitioner is required to submit the
Caste Certi!cate issued by the competent authority,
wherein spelling of his name is required to correct. The
petitioner has accordingly made an application to the
respondent No.2 on 23.02.2026. In view thereof, the
respondent No.2-Mamlatdar, Porbandar is directed to
decide the application of the petitioner dated 23.02.2026
and issue the Caste Certi!cate to the petitioner
correcting the spelling of the name of petitioner within
two weeks.
6. With the aforesaid direction, the present Special Civil
Application stands disposed of. Rule is made absolute to
the aforesaid extent.
7. It is clari!ed that the Caste Certi!cate issued in the
prescribed format will be open for scrutiny by the Caste
Scrutiny Committee and the present order is not passed
on the merits of the Caste Certi!cate held by the
petitioner.
Direct service is permitted.
Sd/-
(HEMANT M. PRACHCHHAK,J)
SURESH SOLANKI
Original copy of this order has been signed by the Hon'ble Judge.
Digitally signed by: SURESHKUMAR MOTIBHAI SOLANKI(HC00208), PRINCIPAL PRIVATE SECRETARY, at High Court of Gujarat on 27/03/2026 17:37:07
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