ASTHA GOPAL KHAKRAversusSTATE OF MAHARASHTRA & ORS.

                  [2023] 15 S.C.R. 218 : 2023 INSC 945



                             CASE DETAILS
                       ASTHA GOPAL KHAKRA
                                      v.
                 STATE OF MAHARASHTRA & ORS.
                      (Civil Appeal no. 7524 of 2019)
                            OCTOBER 11, 2023
         [HRISHIKESH ROY AND SANJAY KAROL, JJ.]
                              HEADNOTES
     Issue for consideration: High Court if erred in rejecting the appellant’s
claim as belonging to the Nomadic Tribe-Lohar.
      Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Denotified Tribes (Vimukta
Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward
Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate
Rules, 2012 – rr.3, 16 – Claim of the appellant as belonging to the
Nomadic Tribe-Lohar, rejected – Legality:
      Held: For verification of Caste status, the claimant was required to
furnish the information mentioned in r.16 which specified the documents to
be furnished as primary information and evidence – Amongst the mentioned
documents, the claimant may furnish School Leaving Certificate of a
relative – She must also indicate proof of permanent residence in the State
of Maharashtra, prior to the deemed date i.e., 21.11.1961 – School leaving
certificates of the appellant’s two paternal uncles clearly demonstrated that
the appellant’s grand-father had got his two sons (uncles of the appellant)
admitted into the Municipal School at Akola on 12.08.1960 and 18.07.1961
respectively – This itself would clearly establish that the fore-fathers of the
appellant had migrated and set up residence in Akola in Maharashtra, prior to
the deemed date of 21.11.1961 – The school leaving certificates would also
satisfy the condition for residence mentioned in r.3 – Scrutiny Committee
and the High Court erred in rejecting the appellant’s claim as belonging to
the Nomadic Tribe-Lohar – High Court additionally fell into an error by
recording that the appellant’s grand-father’s name does not figure in the
family tree – Decision of the Scrutiny Committee and also the impugned
judgment of the High Court are unsustainable – Appellant belongs to the
                                    218
 ASTHA GOPAL KHAKRA v. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA & 219
                     ORS.

Nomadic Tribe-Lohar – Since she has completed her education in BDS
course from respondent no.3, by virtue of the present judgment, her results
should now be declared. [Paras 8, 16, 18 and 20]
       LIST OF CITATIONS AND OTHER REFERENCES
      Marri Chandra Shekhar Rao vs Dean, Seth G.S. Medical College &
Ors. [1990] 2 SCR 843 : (1990) 3 SCC 130 – distinguished.
       OTHER CASE DETAILS INCLUDING IMPUGNED
              ORDER AND APPEARANCES
     CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 7524 of 2019.
     From the Judgment and Order dated 18.09.2018 of the High Court of
Judicature at Bombay at Nagpur in WP No.4051 of 2017.
     Appearances:
    Kunal Cheema, Apoorv Shukla, Raghav Deshpande, Advs. for the
Appellant.
     Aaditya Aniruddha Pande, Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Sourav Singh,
Aditya Krishna, Gaurav Agrawal, Manan Daga, Advs. for the Respondents.
       JUDGMENT / ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT

                              JUDGMENT

     HRISHIKESH ROY, J.
     Heard Mr. Kunal Cheema, learned counsel appearing for the appellant.
Mr. Aaditya Aniruddha Pande, learned counsel appears for the State of
Maharashtra and District Caste Certificate Verification Committee, Akola
[respondent nos.1 and 2 respectively]. Mr. Gaurav Agrawal, learned counsel
appears for the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (Respondent
No. 4).
     2. The challenge here is to the judgment dated 18.09.2018 of the
Division Bench of the High Court whereby the appellant’s challenge to the
finding of the District Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Akola (for short,
“Scrutiny Committee”) invalidating her Caste Certificate was dismissed.
The appellant claims to belong to Nomadic Tribe-Ghisadi of Maharashtra
220          SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2023] 15 S.C.R.


mentioned at Entry (8) of Schedule II in the Government Resolution dated
21.11.1961 i.e., Ghisadi-Lohar. By virtue of Circular dated 27.03.1965, the
appellant claims to belong to the Ghisadi-Lohar community which is made
equivalent to Entry No. (8) of the Schedule II of the Resolution.
      3. The fore-fathers of the appellant migrated from the State of Rajasthan
and the appellant’s grand-father settled in Akola, Maharashtra. The appellant
sought recognition as Nomadic Tribe-Lohar and a certificate to this effect was
issued to her on 10.08.2012 by the Sub-Divisional Officer, Akola. The Caste
certificate issued to the appellant became the subject matter of scrutiny and
in the Enquiry Report of the Vigilance Squad dated 27.12.2014 (Annexure
P-10), it was reflected that the appellant’s family originally belonged to
Rajasthan but her grand-father-Mulchand had come to Akola in the year
1960 and was residing in the Mominpura Area in Akola as a tenant. Later,
her grand-father purchased a plot of land in the year 1968 and constructed
a house on the said plot and settled therein along with the other family
members including the appellant’s father.
      4. However, notwithstanding the above finding of the appellant’s grand-
father having migrated to Akola in the year 1960, the Scrutiny Committee,
Akola, on the basis of the material adduced opined that the appellant could
not substantiate her caste claim and accordingly, the following decision was
given against the appellant:
            “1. The ‘Lohar’ (Nomadic Tribe-B) caste claim of the applicant
      - Astha Gopal Khakra is declared as Invalid.
      2. The Sub Divisional Officer (S.D.O.), Akola is directed to impound
      the caste certificate No.MRC-81/Akola/F-238/2012-13 issued to Shri
      Astha Gopal Khakra immediately and take necessary action under
      section 10 (3) of the above Act.”
     5. Following the above decision of the Scrutiny Committee, the
aggrieved appellant filed Writ Petition No.4051/2017 which came to be
dismissed in the first round on 11.09.2017. But the said Writ Petition
was restored on 08.06.2018 by the Division Bench of the High Court and
eventually the impugned order came to be passed on 18.09.2018.
      6. The determination of the Caste status for the people in appellant’s
 ASTHA GOPAL KHAKRA v. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA & 221
             ORS. [HRISHIKESH ROY, J.]

category is to be made under the Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Denotified
Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and
Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of)
Caste Certificate Rules, 2012 (for short, “the 2012 Rules”).
      7. The 2012 Rules provide for constitution of the Scrutiny Committee
to decide on the validity of a Caste Certificate. As the appellant’s family
migrated from Rajasthan to Maharashtra, under the 2012 Rules, the
appellant is required to establish that by the deemed date i.e., 21.11.1961,
the appellant’s fore-fathers from the paternal side, had set up residence in
the State of Maharashtra.
      8. For verification of Caste status, the claimant is required to furnish
the information mentioned in Rule 16 of the 2012 Rules which specifies the
documents to be furnished as primary information and evidence. Amongst
the mentioned documents, the claimant may furnish School Leaving
Certificate of a relative. She must also indicate proof of permanent residence
in the State of Maharashtra, prior to the deemed date i.e., 21.11.1961.
      9. Besides other documents, the appellant produced her family tree
where the name of her father – Gopal Mulchand and name of her grand-
father Mulchand Hemraj Khakhara was shown. That apart the name of one
uncle (father’s brother)-Ramavatar Mulchand and another uncle-Rajesh
Mulchand was also reflected together with the name of the appellant’s
cousin sister Shraddha [wrongly shown as Sudha]. She also produced
the School Leaving Certificate issued to the appellant’s uncle Ramavatar
Mulchand showing his school entry date as 12.08.1960 and the school
leaving Certificate of the other uncle-Radheshyam Mulchand showing the
school entry date as 18.07.1961. Both School Leaving Certificates show
admission in the Municipal Corporation Hindi Balak School No. 1, Akola
(for short, Municipal School at Akola) before the deemed date of 21.11.1961,
mentioned in the 2012 Rules.
      10. However, the Scrutiny Committee refused to accept the School
Leaving Certificate issued for the uncle-Radheshyam Mulchand by
observing that his name is not mentioned in the family tree of the claimant.
Surprisingly, no weightage was given for the School Leaving Certificate of
the other uncle Ramavatar Mulchand by the Scrutiny Committee.
222           SUPREME COURT REPORTS                          [2023] 15 S.C.R.


      11.1 Mr. Kunal Cheema, learned counsel appearing for the appellant
would submit that the Scrutiny Committee mis-directed itself by relying on
the ratio in Marri Chandra Shekhar Rao vs Dean, Seth G.S. Medical College
& Ors. Reported in (1990) 3 SCC 130 as the said judgment is inapplicable
for those whose claims are to be considered under the provisions of the
2012 Rules.
      11.2 The appellant then argues that when the School Leaving Certificate
of the uncle Ramavatar was very much available without being questioned
by anyone, the Scrutiny Committee could not have rejected the appellant’s
claim by placing heavy reliance on the family tree which omitted to mention
few relatives.
     11.3 The argument of the counsel is that when the relationship of the
appellant with her uncle and grand-father is established, her status in the State
of Maharashtra should have been determined on the basis of the 2012 Rules.
      11.4 Mr. Kunal Cheema, learned counsel contends that the High Court
committed a serious error by wrongly observing that the appellant’s grand-
father Mulchand Hemraj was not mentioned in the family tree.
      12.1 On the other hand, Mr. Aaditya Aniruddha Pande, learned
Standing counsel for State would refer to the documents relied upon by the
appellant before the Scrutiny Committee to point out that most of them are
of dates subsequent to the deemed date of 21.11.1961 mentioned in the 2012
Rules and therefore, can be of no assistance to the appellant.
      12.2 The learned Standing counsel however agrees that determination
of the status of the appellant as a migrant family from Rajasthan is to be
done as per the provisions of the 2012 Rules.
     13. The family tree produced by the appellant clearly indicates that
Mulchand Hemraj is the paternal grandfather of the appellant. Therefore, the
Division Bench obviously misread the family tree in making the incorrect
observation that name of the person Mulchand Hemraj, the appellant’s
paternal grand-father, does not figure in the family tree.
     14. The School Leaving Certificate of Ramavatar (son of Mulchand
Hemraj), the appellant’s paternal uncle was made available before the
Scrutiny Committee. The certificate indicated that Ramavatar took admission
 ASTHA GOPAL KHAKRA v. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA & 223
             ORS. [HRISHIKESH ROY, J.]

in the Municipal School, Akola on 12.08.1960. Similarly, the other paternal
uncle of the appellant Radheshyam, as is discernible from the School Leaving
Certificate of the same school, took admission on 18.07.1961. Obviously,
at the time when admission was taken in 1960 and 1961, it must be the
grand-father Mulchand Hemraj who secured admission for his two young
sons in the said Municipal School at Akola.
     15. The “relative” as defined in Rule 2(h) of the 2012 Rules reads as
under:
           “(h) “relative” means a blood relative from paternal side of
     the applicant as per the geneology, except any particular tribe which
     has been notified by the Government from Nomadic Tribes and any
     particular caste or tribes as notified by the Government, from time to
     time;”…
      16. The primary School Leaving Certificate of a relative from the
parental side is one of the preferred documents for establishing a claim
before the Scrutiny Committee. Appropriate certificates of the appellant’s
two paternal uncles were produced indicating that the appellant’s grand-
father had migrated and set up permanent residence at Akola on or before
the deemed date i.e., 21.11.1961.
      17. Notwithstanding the above, the appellant’s claim was rejected on
the erroneous basis that she has not been able to produce any documents
to the effect that her fore-fathers started residing in Maharashtra, prior to
1961. The two school leaving certificates of the two paternal uncles clearly
demonstrate that the appellant’s grand-father had got his two sons (uncles
of the appellant) admitted into the Municipal School at Akola on 12.08.1960
and 18.07.1961 respectively. This itself would clearly establish that the
fore-fathers of the appellant had migrated and set up residence in Akola in
Maharashtra, prior to the deemed date of 21.11.1961. The school leaving
certificates would also satisfy the condition for residence mentioned in
Rule 3 of the 2012 Rules. Yet a negative finding was given by the Scrutiny
Committee which not only ignored the Enquiry Report of the Vigilance
Squad made available on 27.12.2014 but also ignored the two school leaving
certificates of the paternal uncles of the appellant.
224            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                       [2023] 15 S.C.R.


     18. The materials on record suggest that the appellant’s grand father-
Mulchand shifted to Akola sometime in the year 1960 and the two paternal
uncles of the appellants were admitted to schools in Akola on 12.08.1960
and on 18.07.1961 well before the deemed date of 21.11.1961.
      19. The Scrutiny Committee relied on the judgment in Marri
Chandra Shekhar Rao (supra), but all we need to say is that the judgment
is distinguishable as it was not concerned with the 2012 Rules but was
concerned with the circular dated 22.02.1985 issued by the Government of
India which indicated that migrants from one state to another will be entitled
to derive benefits from the state of origin and not from the state to which
the individual migrates. This judgment therefore can have no application
in the facts of the present appeal.
      20. The upshot of the above discussion is that the Scrutiny Committee
and the High Court erred in rejecting the appellant’s claim as belonging to
the Nomadic Tribe-Lohar. The High Court additionally fell into an error
by recording that the appellant’s grand-father Mulchand’s name does not
figure in the family tree. In consequence, the decision of the Scrutiny
Committee dated 06.03.2017 and also the High Court’s impugned judgment
dated 18.09.2018 are found to be unsustainable. Looking at the linkage
demonstrated with her paternal grandfather who settled in Maharashtra prior
to the deemed date i.e., 21.11.1961, the appellant should in our opinion
be considered as belonging to the Nomadic Tribe-Lohar. It is declared
accordingly. The appeal is allowed with such finding. In consequence,
since the appellant has completed her education in BDS course from Yogita
Dental College and Hospital (respondent no.3), by virtue of the present
judgment, her results should now be declared. All consequential reliefs
will follow.


Headnotes prepared by:                                          Appeal allowed.
Divya Pandey