Gujarat High Court
Mrunal Pradip Chaudhari vs State Of Gujarat on 9 October, 2024
Author: Sangeeta K. Vishen
Bench: Sangeeta K. Vishen
NEUTRAL CITATION
C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 8399 of 2024
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE SANGEETA K. VISHEN Sd/-
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1 Whether Reporters of Local Papers may be allowed NO
to see the judgment ?
2 To be referred to the Reporter or not ? YES
3 Whether their Lordships wish to see the fair copy NO
of the judgment ?
4 Whether this case involves a substantial question NO
of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution
of India or any order made thereunder ?
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MRUNAL PRADIP CHAUDHARI
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
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Appearance:
MR SP MAJMUDAR(3456) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MR. HJ KARATHIYA(7012) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MS FORAM TRIVEDI, AGP for the Respondent(s) No. 1,2
MR SIMRANJITSINGH H VIRK(11607) for the Respondent(s) No. 3
MR. KM ANTANI(6547) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE SANGEETA K. VISHEN
Date : 09/10/2024
ORAL JUDGMENT
With the consent of the learned Advocates appearing for the respective parties, the matter is taken up for final disposal.
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2. Issue Rule, returnable forthwith. Mr KM Antani, learned Assistant Government Pleader waives service of notice of Rule on behalf of respondent nos.1 and 2. Mr Simranjitsingh Virk, learned Advocate waives service of notice of Rule on behalf of respondent no.3.
3. Captioned writ petition is directed against the order dated 09.05.2024 passed by the respondent no.1 i.e. Member Secretary, Scrutiny Committee & Joint Director (hereinafter referred to as "the respondent no.1"), cancelling the caste certificate dated 08.09.2022 of the petitioner as well as the order/communication dated 20.05.2024 issued by the respondent no.2, i.e. Admission Committee for Professional Undergraduate & Postgraduate Medical Education Courses (hereinafter referred to as "Admission Committee"), cancelling the admission of the petitioner with the respondent no.3 college.
4. The matter was heard and vide order dated 10.07.2024, the interim relief was refused. The Letters Patent Appeal no.693 of 2024 was dismissed vide order dated 18.07.2024. Being aggrieved, the petitioner has preferred the Special Leave to Appeal before the Hon'ble Supreme Court and while disposing of the same, the following order has been passed:
"1. Since this petition is filed against an interlocutory order, we are not inclined to entertain the present petition.
2. However, we request the learned Single Judge to decide the writ petition filed by the petitioner expeditiously and preferably within a period of three months from today.
3. We further clarify that the learned Single Judge would Page 2 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined not be influenced by the observations made by the learned Division Bench of the High Court in the impugned order.
4. The special leave petition is, accordingly, disposed of.
5. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of."
5. Mr S.P. Majmudar, learned advocate with Mr H.J. Karathiya, learned advocate for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner belongs to 'Teli' community. The grandfather was residing at Bhavnagar since many years, so also the parents of the petitioner. It is submitted that the petitioner has excelled in Std. X and XII. Besides, she has appeared in National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (UG) - 2022 (hereinafter referred to as "NEET") securing 507 marks out of 720 marks. Even provisional allotment letter dated 01.11.2022 was issued by the respondent no.2 and thereafter, the petitioner has cleared the first year M.B.B.S examination by securing 538 marks out of 900 marks.
5.1. It is submitted that the certificate of age and domicile issued by the Executive Magistrate & City Mamlatdar, certifies that the petitioner is residing in Bhavnagar city since last more than 10 years. Furthermore, the caste certificate has been issued by the District Deputy Director, certifying that the petitioner belongs to the 'Teli' community. It is submitted that documents, namely, School Leaving Certificate, other certificates of granduncle, aunt etc., were considered and after following the due process of law, the petitioner was issued the age and domicile certificate by the competent authority as well as caste certificate.
Page 3 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined 5.2. It is next submitted that during the verification process, the petitioner has produced transfer certificate indicating that the petitioner belongs to Hindu OBC. Even the School Leaving Certificate of the grandfather refers to the caste as Hindu Teli. Moreover, item no.9 of the School Leaving Certificate indicates that the grandfather left the school in the year 1964. Similarly, in the documents pertaining to granduncle, the caste mentioned is Hindu Teli. It is submitted that another set of documents produced were, the receipt issued by the jeweller; the papers of the treatment received by the grandfather of the hospital, somewhere in the month of August 1974 and discharge during the said period, as well as the receipt of the tax paid by the landlord of the petitioner. It is submitted that all the documents placed on record show that the petitioner has roots in the State and hence, the certificate, ought not to have been cancelled.
5.3. It is submitted that undisputably, the grandfather and the granduncle have studied in the State of Gujarat, which aspect has been recorded in paragraph 6 of the impugned order; however, what weighed with the respondent no.1 is that the father of the petitioner and the petitioner were born in the State of Maharashtra. The respondent no.1, took note of the fact that grandfather was residing in the State, but not as on 01.04.1974.
5.4. While adverting to the policies governing the issuance of caste certificate, it is submitted that the circular dated 27.04.2010 and more particularly, paragraph 2, provides that the caste certificate can be issued on the basis of documents, Page 4 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined including documents of the father, grandfather, uncle or any blood relatives. Even the undertaking in Schedule-I to the resolution, provides that in case of any doubt documents prior to 01.04.1978 can be produced and considered. It is further submitted that the respondent no.1 did not consider the applicable policy of 2010 as against this, it considered the earlier policy of 1994. Reliance is placed on the judgment of this Court in the case of Shrivas Rajeshkumar Satyanarayana vs. Chairman, Selection Committee and Ors. reported in AIR 1987 Guj. 4.
5.5. It is submitted that Rule 18 of the Rules of 2017 has been invoked for cancellation of the admission and it is not in dispute that the petitioner was given a valid caste certificate; whereas, Rule 18 deals with the cancellation on production of false documents. Rule 18 could not have been invoked, as it is not the case of the respondent authorities, that the petitioner has produced the false document. It is further submitted that without prejudice to the challenge to the cancellation of the caste certificate, the petitioner since has secured 507 marks, may be considered and accommodated in any other colleges. It is submitted that considering the provisions of Rule 5 of Gujarat Professional Medical Educational Courses (Regulation of Admission in Undergraduate Courses) Rules, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as "the Rules of 2017"), admission has been cancelled and the seat would now remain vacant and if the petitioner is allowed to continue, no prejudice would be caused to the respondents. It is therefore, submitted that the impugned order is untenable and so also the cancellation and Page 5 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined hence, the order deserves to be quashed and set aside and the admission be restored.
6. Per contra, Mr. Kanva M. Antani, learned advocate, submitted that reliance placed on the resolution dated 27.04.2010, is erroneous inasmuch as, it essentially provides for issuance of the caste certificate at the earliest and in a seamless manner and has nothing to do with the requirements at the threshold. Condition no.2 of the Resolution of 2010, merely says that in absence of any reference of caste in the record, other documents of the father, uncle, grandfather, aunt can be produced and proved. In other words, the person has to be of a blood relation. The documents of the granduncle etc. cannot be considered. So far as the rent receipt, tax receipts etc. are concerned, the same cannot be construed as a credible evidence and it is required to be proved that in whose favour the rent receipt was issued. Such documents cannot be considered to be the valid documents for the purpose of caste certificate. It is submitted that the Committee, has taken note of the receipt issued by the jeweller, the construction bill etc. but were not considered, they not being public record. Also, the documents, do not say about the caste.
6.1 It is therefore, submitted that the position as on 01.04.1978 is to be considered and on that date, it is not proved that the father was a permanent resident of the State of Gujarat. Reasoning are to be tested on the basis of the documents and hence, it cannot be said that there is any error, much less any error apparent on the face of the record.
Page 6 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined It is further submitted that reading of the Resolution dated 27.04.2010 in isolation, would be impermissible. The petitioner will have to clear the initial threshold of the requirements as contained in the resolution dated 01.04.1978 and without crossing the said threshold, the petitioner cannot take advantage of the subsequent resolution of the year 2010.
6.2. It is submitted that reliance is placed on the provisions of the Gujarat Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of Caste Certificate) Act, 2018 (hereinafter referred to as the "Act of 2018"); however, it obligates verifying the genuineness and authenticity of the caste certificate. Sub- section (1) of Section 4 states about the satisfaction of the competent authority and after the genuineness of the claim is satisfied, following the procedure, the caste certificate is required to be issued. Similarly, the caste certificate is valid subject to the verification and grant of validity by the respondent no.1. Sub-section (2) of Section 6 says about making of an application to the Scrutiny Committee for verification of the caste certificate and issuance of the validity certificate.
6.3. It is submitted that the admission of the petitioner was provisional and was subject to verification and final decision by the Scrutiny Committee. Pursuant to the letter dated 06.10.2022 of the Admission Committee, the respondent no.1 undertook the entire process of verification and thereafter, the order was passed. Consequent to the order, in accordance with the provisions of Rules 5 and 18, the admission has been Page 7 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined cancelled. Apart from Rule 18, Rule 5 is also invoked, according to which, the admission of a candidate of reserved category on a reserved seat is valid subject to the verification of caste certificate. It also states that in case the caste certificate is found invalid, the candidate shall not have any right to claim admission on reserved seat and if admission is already granted, such admission shall be cancelled. It is submitted that isolated reading of the provision of Rule 18, would be impermissible.
6.4. It is submitted that on the basis of details in affidavit-in- reply, it is sought to be argued that the case of the petitioner be considered in general category; however, the details provided are only to indicate the position available at the relevant point of time and is not to suggest that the petitioner would be entitled and eligible for admission in general category in other colleges. That selective reading of the reply, ignoring the averments made in paragraph 3.8 would be impermissible. It is clearly stated that the petitioner consciously chose the best available choice; however, there was no compulsion. It is submitted that the Committee upon verification, declared the certificate as invalid. Now the petitioner cannot be heard to say that she be accommodated in other colleges. Such argument is barred by the provisions of Rule 17 of the Rules and the writ petition seeking relief, which is barred by law, cannot be granted. It is submitted that the order is a well-reasoned order and no error can be said to have been committed.
7. In response, Mr S.P. Majmudar, learned advocate briefly Page 8 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined submitted that the power is available only in the case of fraudulent caste certificate. All throughout, the respondents have treated it to be a fraudulent caste certificate and that is how, the reference is of Rule 18; however, said rule, would not apply as, it was never the case of the respondent authority about false or incorrect certificate. It is submitted that the contention that Rule 17 would not permit the change of course, is incorrect, as the said rule applies only when student opts for change.
7.1. It is submitted that the Government Resolution of the year 2010, governs the rules with regard to the issuance of caste certificate, which allows the production of the documents relating to the father, grandfather, uncle or any blood relatives and the petitioner having produced the School Leaving Certificate of the grandfather and also the granduncle, the same were illegally discarded. The genuineness of the said documents are not doubted; however, the same have not been considered applying the provisions of the incorrect Government Resolution of 1994. It is submitted that the documents are in sync with the provisions of the resolution of the year 2010 and ought to have been considered.
8. Heard the learned advocates appearing for the respective parties and considered the documents available on record.
9. The issue revolves around the caste certificate dated 08.09.2022 of the petitioner. The petitioner, is aggrieved by Page 9 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined the order dated 09.05.2024 passed by the respondent no.1 so also the communication dated 20.05.2024 issued by the respondent no.2, i.e. the Admission Committee. The former cancelling the caste certificate and latter cancelling the admission.
10. The petitioner had applied for certificate of age and domicile, which has been issued by the Executive Magistrate & City Mamlatdar, certifying that the date and place of birth of the petitioner is 23.11.2002 and District-Dhule, State of Maharashtra respectively. So far as the domicile certificate is concerned, it is certified that the petitioner is residing in Bhavnagar district since last more than ten years. However, the note attached to the certificate reads thus:
"Note:- CHAUDHARI MRUNAL PRADIP originally a native of state: MAHARASHTRA She has accepted domicile rights of Gujarat state giving up domicile right of her native and other states. She will not be liable to have any benefit, if She has obtained certificate of age and domicile from her native and other states except Gujarat State."
11. Discernibly, the petitioner had also applied for caste certificate and together with the application, various documents were attached, namely, (i) School Leaving Certificate dated 04.08.2021; (ii) School Leaving Certificate of Nutan Vidhyalaya dated 26.11.2008; (iii) School Leaving Certificate of father dated 30.06.1990 and (iv) the ration card. On the basis whereof, caste certificate was issued to the petitioner.
12. The petitioner upon securing requisite marks and producing necessary documents, including the caste certificate, got admission on provisional basis with the Page 10 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined respondent no. 3 college. The petitioner has cleared her first year M.B.B.S examination. Undeniably, provisional admission was granted to the petitioner on the reserved seat, on the basis of the caste certificate which was subject to the scrutiny by the scrutiny committee, and was made clear in the allotment letter dated 01.11.2022. The relevant excerpts of letter, read thus:-
".....
Your admission against the reserved seat will be treated as provisional, subject to be finalized by the decision of the Director of Social welfare/Commissioner of Tribal Development/Director of Developing Caste, Your Domicile Certificate is subject to approved by competent authority of Gujarat State. If your domicile certificate is found inappropriate/fake then your admission will be cancelled and Domicile concerned authorities will take action against you.
........"
13. On 06.10.2022, the Admission Committee has addressed a letter to the Director, Tribal Development, inter alia, requesting it to scrutinize the caste certificate, followed by another letter dated 15.11.2022 reiterating its earlier request. The respondent no.1 found the caste certificate doubtful and hence, initiated the process by issuing notices to the petitioner, requiring her to submit requisite documents; substantiating the aspect that as on 01.04.1978, the family of the petitioner was permanent resident of the State of Gujarat. The Committee was of the opinion that for validating the caste certificate, it would be essential to verify as to whether the candidate belongs to scheduled castes or scheduled tribes and prior to 01.04.1978 they have been continuously residing in the State of Gujarat.
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14. On 02.01.2023, the petitioner produced the documents, namely, (i) school leaving certificate dated 04.08.2021, (ii) the caste certificate dated 08.09.2022 issued by the District Deputy Director, (iii) school leaving certificate of the father of the petitioner dated 12.04.1994, and (iv) duplicate school leaving certificate of the grandfather of the petitioner dated 26.11.2008, in all, four documents. Since the documents were not sufficient to buttress the claim of the petitioner of the family permanently residing in the State as on 01.04.1978, request was made to produce other documents. Apropos which, the petitioner submitted the fifth document, namely, certificate issued by Maharashtra Sikshan Mandal High School of family granduncle.
15. The respondent no.1, examined the above-referred documents and was of the opinion that school leaving certificate of the petitioner, cannot be of any aid, for, in the details against Sr. No. 5, as to whether the candidate belongs to scheduled caste or scheduled tribe; answer is in No and the detail mentioned is Hindu OBC. According to the respondent no.1, the caste Hindu OBC is not included in the approved list of Scheduled Caste. Moreover, the place of birth of the petitioner recorded is Dhule, Maharashtra. Caste certificate, i.e. document no.2, was not considered, as it was subject matter of examination. Similarly, the document no.3, i.e. the school leaving certificate of the father, the caste mentioned is Hindu Teli OBC; the date and place of birth mentioned is 01.06.1975 and Gandhadi taluka: Amalner, Maharashtra respectively. The respondent no.1, was Page 12 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined therefore, of the opinion that from 01.06.1975, i.e. the date of birth, till the year 1990, it is proved that the father of the petitioner was permanent resident of the State of Maharashtra and hence, document no.3, was not accepted. The document no. 4 was the school leaving certificate of the grandfather and the date of birth mentioned was 31.12.1949 at Baroda; however the reason for leaving the school on 03.06.1964 indicated was, moving elsewhere. The respondent no.1 therefore, pointed out that till the year 1964, the grandfather was in the State of Gujarat, but it is not proved that thereafter, the grandfather was permanent resident of the State. With this, the said document was also not considered, so also the document no.5 of the granduncle, in absence of the family tree produced on the record. The respondent no.1 concluded that the petitioner has failed to substantiate that on or before 01.04.1978, the family of the petitioner was permanently residing in the State of Gujarat.
16. Respondent no.1 considering the principle laid down in the case of Kumari Madhuri Patil vs. State of Maharashtra summoned the father of the petitioner to remain present so as to place on record further additional documents; however, no documents could be produced. Request was made for some time and accordingly, it was granted. Further document nos.6 and 7, namely, the bill of the jewellery purchased of J.P. Jewellers, and the bill of labour contractor - A.S. Construction Co. dated 07.03.1972 respectively were placed on record. The respondent no.1 did not consider the documents as it were not the public documents. With a view to providing fullest Page 13 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined opportunity, further time was allowed and the petitioner, could produce additional document no.8, i.e. family tree dated 26.12.2023 solely on the affidavit by the father of the petitioner and was accordingly not considered.
17. Subsequent thereto, further documents were produced, namely, 9 to 12, which were the mark-sheet of the engineering college of the father; the rent receipt in the name of grandfather; the tax bill of the house where the grandfather of the petitioner was residing; and the medical case papers. The respondent no.1 considered the documents threadbare and was of the opinion that in the mark-sheet of the engineering college, there is no reference of any caste and hence, cannot be accepted. The rent receipt issued in the name of the grandfather was also not accepted, as it was on a blank paper without there being any salutation. The tax bill was also not accepted as according to the respondent no.1, no connection is established, so also the medical case papers, inasmuch as, neither there was reference of any caste nor the indication that in the year 1974, the grandfather has taken the treatment.
18. Perceptibly, the documents relevant for the consideration to decide the permanent domicile, would be election card, the ration card or the domicile certificate. Considering the provisions of the resolution dated 30.06.1994, the respondent no.1, concluded that it is not clear that the father belongs to the State of Gujarat on or before 01.04.1978. The place of birth of the father of the petitioner was Maharashtra. The respondent no.1, therefore, was of the Page 14 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined opinion that the father of the petitioner was born in the State of Maharashtra and is the resident of the said State. Also, the grandfather has studied upto the year 1964 and, it is not clear whether the grandfather of the petitioner was permanent domicile of the State of Gujarat. The respondent no.1, therefore, opined that if the person is born on or after 01.04.1978 and if the parents are not the permanent domicile and have migrated from other State to the State of Gujarat only for the purpose of education, service or business, cannot be considered as permanent domicile of the State. The respondent no.1, considering the above-referred documents as well as the guidelines issued by the State Government, concluded that the petitioner has failed to establish that the petitioner was the permanent domicile of the State of Gujarat prior to 01.04.1978. It also concluded that the person permanently residing in the State of Gujarat prior to the 01.04.1978, only can be considered as a permanent domicile.
19. The certificate dated 08.09.2022, accordingly, came to be cancelled as it was issued without adhering to the requirement contained in the applicable policies and was tainted with sheer non-application of mind. Even during the course of hearing and dictation, only with a view to seeing that if there are any documents in the nature of the election card, ration card, Aadhar card or PAN card of the grandfather opportunity was given; however, nothing could be produced, expressing the inability. What was produced, is the election card of the parents, which is neither here nor there.
20. Adverting to the policies governing the requirements, it Page 15 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined is to be noted that resolution dated 01.04.1978, acknowledged 82 communities of the SEBC in which 'Teli' community was not included. The said resolution was followed by resolution dated 30.06.1994, laying down the criteria to be fulfilled for the purpose of being granted the status of SEBC. It provided the cut-off date of 01.04.1978 as on that day, the recommendation dated 01.04.1978 of the Baxi Panch was accepted and the person claiming the benefit, should be the permanent resident of the State of Gujarat. The said resolution also provided that for substantiating the claim of permanent resident, the name of the person should be in the election card; the ration card or the domicile certificate. In the present case, at the cost of repetition, it is required to be noted that the petitioner was accorded several opportunities so as to place on record the documents in tune with the Government Resolution dated 30.06.1994; however, the petitioner could not. The documents which were placed were not in consonance with the requirements of the resolution dated 30.06.1994.
21. Discernibly, vide resolution dated 25.07.1994, 'Teli' community was added in the list, that is how the request of the petitioner for the purpose of issuance of the caste certificate in the year 2022. Much emphasis is laid on the resolution dated 27.04.2010 to contend that clause 2 permits the documents of father, uncle, grandfather, aunt or any person who is in a blood relation; however, the petitioner is to overcome the initial threshold of 01.04.1978 considering the fact that by issuing the resolution dated 27.04.2010, the said Page 16 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined threshold is not diluted.
22. In the present case, the petitioner was unable to clear the said barrier. It is only thereafter, the other relaxation would be available to the petitioner as contained in the resolution dated 27.04.2010, issued for the purpose of smooth, seamless and expeditious disposal of the request for issuance of caste certificate and hence, Mr Kanva Antani, learned advocate, is right in contending that reading of resolution dated 27.04.2010 in isolation, would be impermissible. Pertinently, the resolutions governing the issuance of caste certificate are to be read conjointly and not selectively.
23. Moving to the next issue about verification of the caste certificate, it is not in dispute that the petitioner had got the caste certificate in the year 2022 and if the candidate, is desirous of availing of the benefit, the provisions of the Act of 2018 and the Rules of 2017, make the caste certificate subject to the verification by the Scrutiny Committee. It would be profitable to refer to some of the provisions relevant for the present purpose. Section 3 reads provides for application for a caste certificate:
"3. Application for caste certificate: Any person belonging to any of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes, required to produce a Castes Certificate in order to claim the benefit of any reservation provided to such Castes, Tribes or Classes, either for admission into any educational institution under article 15 or in any public employment under article 16 of the Constitution of India or for the purpose of contesting for elective post in any local authority, co-operative society or any other purposes specified by the Government, shall apply in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, to the Competent Page 17 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined Authority for the issuance of a Caste Certificate."
24. Section 4 provides for issuance of the caste certificate by competent authority which, reads thus:
"4. Caste Certificate to be issued by the Competent Authority. (1) The Competent Authority may, on an application made to it under section 3, after satisfying itself about the genuineness of the claim and following the procedure as prescribed, issue a Caste Certificate in such form as may be prescribed or reject the application for reasons to be recorded in writing.
(2) A Caste Certificate issued by any person, officer or authority other than the Competent Authority shall be invalid. The Caste Certificate issued by the Competent Authority shall be valid only subject to the verification and grant of validity certificate by the Scrutiny Committee."
25. It provides that the competent authority may on an application, after satisfying itself about the genuineness of the claim and after following the procedure prescribed, issue a caste certificate or reject the applications for the reasons to be recorded. If the candidate concerned, is desirous of availing the benefit of the reservation, then the caste certificate is subject to verification by the Scrutiny Committee as contained in Section 6 of the Act of 2018. Section 6, reads thus:
"6. Verification of Caste Certificate by Scrutiny Committee. (1) The Government shall constitute, by notification in the Official Gazette, one or more Scrutiny Committee(s) for verification of Caste Certificates issued by the Competent Authorities under sub-section (1) of section 4 specifying in the said notification the functions and the area of jurisdiction of each Scrutiny Committee or Committees.
(2) After obtaining the Caste Certificate from the Competent Authority, any person desirous of availing the benefits or concessions provided to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Other backward Classes for the purposes mentioned in section 3 may make an application, within such time, in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, to the concerned Scrutiny Page 18 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined Committee for the verification of such Caste Certificate and issuance of a validity certificate.
(3) The appointing authorities of the Central or a State Government, local authority, public sector undertakings, educational institutions, co-operative societies or any other Government aided institutions shall make an application in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed to the Scrutiny Committee concerned for the verification of the Caste Certificate and issuance of a validity certificate, in case a person selected for an appointment with the Government concerned, local authority, public sector undertakings, educational institutions, co-operative societies or any other Government aided institutions has not obtained such certificate.
(4) The Scrutiny Committee shall follow such procedure for verification of the Caste Certificate and adhere to the time limit for verification and grant of validity certificate, as may be prescribed."
26. Sub-section (1) of Section 6, speaks about the constitution of the Scrutiny Committee for verification of the caste certificate issued by the competent authority. Sub- section (2), states that any person desirous of availing the benefits or concessions provided to the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes or other backward classes, may make an application and the Scrutiny Committee after verification issue validity certificate.
27. Section 9 further provides the burden of proving the claim and it reads thus:
"9. Burden of Proof: In any proceedings either before the Competent Authority, the Scrutiny Committee or the Appellate Authority under this Act or in any trial of offence under this Act, the burden of proving that the person belongs to any of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes shall be on such claimant/applicant."
28. Clearly, the burden is cast upon the claimant to prove his/her claim that she belongs to scheduled caste, scheduled Page 19 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined tribe or other backward classes. In the present case, the petitioner was desirous and has availed of the benefit of reservation. It is therefore, the caste certificate, was subject to verification by the Scrutiny Committee under the provisions of Section 6 of the Act of 2018. The petitioner very well knew about the stipulation of verification in the provisional allotment letter dated 01.11.2022 indicating that the admission against the reserve seat shall be treated as provisional subject to the final decision of the Scrutiny Committee. The process was undertaken by the respondent no.1, upon request being made by the Admission Committee. As aforesaid, after sufficient opportunity to the petitioner and since the petitioner could not prove her claim, considering all the documents threadbare, the caste certificate was cancelled on the ground that it has been issued without application of mind.
29. Even during the course of hearing of the captioned writ petition, the petitioner was allowed opportunity to place on record documents of the grandfather to substantiate the claim of permanent resident on or before 01.04.1978, the petitioner could not. The petitioner could not point out any error committed by respondent no.1 in cancelling the caste certificate dated 08.09.2022.
30. Request is made on behalf of the petitioner that she be permitted to continue and finish her studies as the seat would go waste and no prejudice would be caused to the respondents. It is required to be appreciated that the claim of the petitioner is found to be invalid as per the applicable Page 20 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined policies. The inbuilt mechanism in the Act of 2018 and the Rules of 2017 provide for the consequences and it followed. It is equally true that the petitioner secured the admission depriving the genuine claim of the reserved candidate. Undisputably the admission was provisional with a clear understanding that it is subject to verification by the Scrutiny Committee and Rule 5 of the Rules of 2017 throws sufficient light and it reads thus:
"5. Reservation of Seats:-
(1) Fifteen percent (15%) of total seats for admissions in each Government Medical and Dental College shall be reserved for candidates of All India Quota who are allotted for admission by the Director General of Health Services, Government of India, New Delhi.
(2) After deduction of the seats referred to in sub-rule (1), the remaining available Government seats shall be reserved for the candidate of Gujarat origin and falling under the following categories, namely:-
(a) Scheduled Castes : 7%
(b) Scheduled Tribes: 15 %
(c) Socially and Educationally Backward Class: 27 %
Explanation - The reservation of the seats shall not be applicable for those who have migrated from other States.
(3) Ten percent seats of total available Government seats in the Nursing Colleges shall be reserved for male candidates.
(4) A candidate seeking admission on reserved seat shall be required to produce a Certificate of Caste from which he originates:
Provided that the candidate belonging to Socially and Educationally Backward Class shall be required to produce a certificate to the effect of non-inclusion in Creamy Layer in addition to the caste certificate.
(5) No caste certificate shall be valid unless it is duly signed, stamped, and issued by the authority empowered by the State Government.Page 21 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024
NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined (6) No certificate regarding non-inclusion in Creamy Layer shall be valid, unless it is duly stamped, signed and issued by the authority empowered by the Government of Gujarat. The validity of such Certificate shall be as per the prevailing policy of the Government.
(7) If a candidate fails to submit the certificates as required under sub-rule (4) within the stipulated time, his candidature shall be considered for admission under unreserved category.
(8) If a candidate of reserved category gets admission on unreserved seat in order of merit, he may be given admission on the unreserved seat according to his preference.
(9) The admission of a candidate of a reserved category on a reserved seat shall be valid subject to the verification of caste certificate by the authority empowered by the State Government in this behalf. In case the caste certificate is found invalid on verification, he shall not have right to claim his admission on reserved seat and if he has been already granted admission, such admission shall be cancelled.
(10) After granting admission to all the candidates of reserved categories on reserved seats, the reserved Category seats remaining vacant shall be transferred to the unreserved category seats."
31. Sub-rule (4) of Rule 5 provides that a candidate seeking admission on reserved seat shall be required to produce a certificate of caste from which he originates. Sub-rule (5) of Rule 5 further provides that no caste certificate shall be valid unless it is duly signed, stamped and issued by the authority empowered by the State Government. Besides, sub-rule (9) of Rule 5, provides that admission of a candidate of a reserved category on a reserved seat shall be valid subject to the verification of caste certificate by the authority empowered by the State Government. It also provides that in case the caste certificate is found invalid on verification, he/she shall not have right to claim admission on reserved seat and if he/she has been already granted admission, such admission shall be Page 22 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024 NEUTRAL CITATION C/SCA/8399/2024 JUDGMENT DATED: 09/10/2024 undefined cancelled.
32. As discussed hereinabove, after in-depth scrutiny and offering sufficient opportunity the respondent no. 1 came to the conclusion that the caste certificate is not valid. The caste certificate was not in tune with the provisions of Government Resolutions and hence, as per the provisions of sub-rule (9) of Rule 5 of the Rules of 2017, the provisional admission of the petitioner stood cancelled. Therefore, this Court, does not find any error committed by the respondent no.1 in cancelling the caste certificate, so also the admission of the petitioner and hence, the petition does not deserve to be entertained and is hereby dismissed. Rule is discharged. No order as to costs.
Sd/-
(SANGEETA K. VISHEN,J) SINDHU NAIR Page 23 of 23 Uploaded by SINDHU NAIR(HC01395) on Tue Oct 29 2024 Downloaded on : Sat Nov 02 21:45:11 IST 2024