5 months ago
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The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has ruled that Central Government employees availing preservation benefits successful Maharashtra indispensable get caste validity certificates nether the State law.
Dismissing a batch of petitions, the tribunal upheld the law validity of Section 6(1) and 6(3) of the Maharashtra Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Denotified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Special Backward Category (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Caste Certificate Act, 2000, on with Rule 9 of the 2003 Rules.
The petitions were filed by Anand Shankarrao Kolhatkar and others, each Central Government employees, immoderate retired and others inactive successful service, who were appointed against Scheduled Tribe reserved posts connected the spot of caste certificates identifying them as Halba ST. Most of these appointments were made earlier 1995, and the petitioners argued that their assignment orders never required submission of validity certificates. Years later, they were directed to use online to the State Scrutiny Committee for verification. When they failed to comply, disciplinary proceedings were initiated under Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, prompting the ineligible challenge.
The petitioners contended that the Act of 2000 and the Rules of 2003 were unconstitutional, arbitrary, and contrary to Supreme Court directions successful Kumari Madhuri Patil and Dayaram. They argued that the State lacked legislative competence to modulate work conditions of Central Government employees nether Union List Entry 70 of the Seventh Schedule. They besides claimed that employees appointed anterior to 1995 were exempt from verification, citing Parliamentary Committee recommendations.
Advocate General Dr. Birendra Saraf, appearing for the State, countered that issuance and verification of caste certificates autumn squarely wrong State jurisdiction. He maintained that preservation argumentation forms portion of societal and economical readying nether Concurrent List Entry 20 and that the Act, which received Presidential assent, was enacted to forestall misuse of preservation benefits.
Rejecting the plea of legislative incompetence, a Division Bench of Justice M.S. Jawalkar and Justice Raj D. Wakode observed, “The Act of 2000 simply provides for the issuance of a caste/tribe certificate by a Competent Authority and its verification by the Scrutiny Committee. It does not determine or subordinate to the work conditions of immoderate class of persons whatsoever.”
The Judges further held that the work to get a validity certificate applies irrespective of the employer, “Every idiosyncratic who is granted a caste/tribe certificate nether Section 4(1) of the Act of 2000 is nether an work to get a validity successful respect to the aforesaid from the Scrutiny Committee, successful presumption of the statutory work arsenic spelt retired by Section 4(2) work with Section 6(2) of the Act of 2000, successful lawsuit specified idiosyncratic is desirous of availing the benefits of concessions arsenic provided to the reserved scheduled category.”
Warning against the consequences of accepting unverified certificates, the Bench remarked, “If specified certificates without verification are held arsenic valid, the humor relatives of the employees of Central Government volition get automatic benefits. It whitethorn beryllium utilized for admission in educational institutions, nationalist employment, and adjacent for elections. Such is not the import and entity of the enactment.”
The Court added, “There is nary unconstitutionality and the provisions of Section 6(1) and 6(3) of the Act of 2000 and Rule 9 of the Rules, 2003 are held and declared to beryllium valid and constitutional.”
The substance has been posted for further proceeding connected December 17, 2025.
