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PART A 15 Legislative intervention in the State of Maharashtra by the enactment of 2000 puts into place a statutory framework covering the area from the issuance of caste / tribe certificates and traversing the scrutiny and verification of caste / tribe claims and withdrawal of benefits accruing upon a false claim. Stringent penalties are provided against violators by creating a regime of criminal offences which are punishable at law. An application for a caste certificate is required to be made to a designated authority constituted by the State Government. The competent authority has to be satisfied about the genuineness of the claim before it issues a caste certificate. Issuance of a caste certificate does not in itself conclude the level of scrutiny. The next stage of scrutiny is contemplated before the Scrutiny Committee which is conferred with a statutory status by the provisions of the Act. Section 6 mandates in sub-section (2) that a person who desires to avail of a benefit or concession provided to a designated caste, tribe or class must make an application well in time to the Scrutiny Committee for verification of the caste certificate and for the issuance of a validity certificate. Not only this, the appointing authority is obligated to move the Scrutiny Committee to conduct a verification of the caste certificate of a person who has been selected for appointment. Section 7 empowers the Scrutiny Committee either suo motu or otherwise to enquire into the correctness of a caste certificate and, if it is of the opinion that the certificate was obtained fraudulently, it shall cancel and confiscate it after furnishing a reasonable opportunity to be heard. Section 7 operates in respect of all caste certificates whether obtained before or after the PART A commencement of the Act. If a caste certificate has been obtained falsely by a person either claiming himself or his children to belong to a designated caste, tribe or class, the Scrutiny Committee is empowered to cancel it upon an opinion formed that it was obtained fraudulently. The fact that a person belongs to a designated caste, tribe or class is based on facts which are to the knowledge of the applicant and hence the burden of proof is placed on the claimant by Section

“24….The inquiry under section 7(1) of Maharashtra Act No. XXIII of 2001 by the Caste Scrutiny Committee is focussed on the correctness of the Caste Certificate obtained by such person from the Competent Authority. The, Caste Certificate is issued by the Competent Authority on the application made by the concerned person disclosing certain information. If the Caste Certificate is cancelled by the Caste Scrutiny Committee, it obviously means that the Caste Certificate has been obtained by that person from the Competent Authority on incorrect facts or erroneous representation. It is not necessary that such claim or declaration must involve turpitude of mind. There may not be any deliberateness in it. The failure on the part of the candidate to establish his caste claim before the Scrutiny Committee and the declaration that the Certificate obtained from the Competent Authority is invalid and thereby cancelled leads to necessary inference that such person made a false claim of his caste belonging to the reserved category to which he did not belong and, thus, incurring disqualification under section 16(1C)(a).” (Id at p.
438) (emphasis supplied) Again, in the view of the Full Bench :
“26. A candidate who sets up a claim as belonging to a particular caste by making an application to the Competent Authority and 27 (2007) 1 Mh. L.J 423 28 (2004) 3 Mh. L J 1109 PART A obtains the Caste Certificate based on such claim and information and contests the election of the Councillor from the reserved seat and gets elected and if, ultimately, the Scrutiny Committee upon inquiring into the correctness of such certificate declares such certificate invalid and cancels the same, it is obvious that such Caste Certificate has been obtained by that person on the basis of the declaration or information or claim which was not correct or true and upon invalidation and cancellation of the Caste Certificate by the Scrutiny Committee, such person incurs disqualification automatically. There is no escape from it.” (Id. at p.

The narration of facts reveals a complete misuse of process by the Respondent. For the reasons contained in the body of the judgment, the impugned order of the High Court is unsustainable and is accordingly set aside. The Civil Appeal is accordingly allowed in these terms. No separate submission is urged.

There shall be no order as to costs.

21 Executive Director (Lubes), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. Vs. Ashok Mahadeorao Pathrabe & Ors.62 :

The respondent joined IOCL in 1976 at its R & D Centre, Faridabad. At the time of the appointment, the respondent has shown himself as belonging to the Halba Scheduled Tribe. The appointment was subject to the information submitted by the respondent being true and correct. The respondent submitted his caste certificate along with a prescribed form/documents on 15 December 2006 which were forwarded for verification. The Scrutiny Committee rejected the caste claim of the respondent on 4 October 2010. Being aggrieved, the respondent preferred an internal appeal and also a writ petition before the High Court. By its order dated 1 March 2011 the appellant rejected the appeal of the 62 (Civil Appeal Nos.8599-8600/17 @ SLP (C) Nos. 29388-89 of 2016) PART A respondent upholding the dismissal order. Subsequently on 7 December 2011 the High Court also dismissed the petition of the respondent upholding the dismissal order. Being aggrieved, the respondent filed a Special Leave Petition before this Court which was dismissed by an order dated 27 February 2012. The appellant filed another writ petition before the High Court which was allowed by an order dated 24 November 2015 to the extent that the services of the respondent were protected till his superannuation.