[Cites 5, Cited by 0]
Madhya Pradesh High Court
Aditya Thakur vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh on 12 March, 2026
Author: Vishal Mishra
Bench: Vishal Mishra
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH
AT JABALPUR
BEFORE
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE VISHAL MISHRA
ON THE 12th OF MARCH, 2026
WRIT PETITION No. 8740 of 2026
ADITYA THAKUR
Versus
THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS
Appearance:
Shri Kapil Sharma - Advocate for the petitioner.
Shri A.S. Baghel - Government Advocate for the respondents/State.
ORDER
This petition has been filed seeking following reliefs:-
"i. Issue a writ in the nature of certiorari while directing
respondent authorities and cancel the caste certificate
issued to Respondent No. 7 dated 28.02.1983 (or any
other) in the light of cancellation of caste certificate by
High Level Scrutiny Committee issued to his real
brother namely Shri Ajay Likhar. (Annexure P/1);
ii. Any other order/orders, direction/ directions which
deems fit and proper may also be passed;
iii. Award cost of the litigation to the petitioner."
2. Petitioner, by way of filing instant writ petition, is challenging caste
certificate issued to respondent No.7 on 28.02.1983. The caste certificate of
real brother of respondent No. 7, namely Shri Ajay Likhar is cancelled by the
High Level Caste Scrutiny Committee after due verification. The said
cancellation was affirmed after reconsideration and ultimately upheld by this
and attained finality on 08.04.2021. Both brothers derive caste status from
the same lineage, ancestry and place of origin. Their caste certificates were
issued by the same authority during the same period and based on identical
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factual foundations. Despite the final judicial determination declaring the
caste claim of one brother invalid, respondent No.7 continues to enjoy
appointment, promotions and service benefits under the Scheduled Tribe
quota on the basis of a caste certificate issued under identical circumstances.
The inaction of the State authorities in initiating verification and cancellation
proceedings against respondent No.7 is arbitrary, discriminatory and
violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. It defeats the
constitutional mandate of protecting genuine Scheduled Tribe candidates
from fraudulent deprivation of reservation benefits. Hence, this petition has
been filed.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner has drawn attention of this Court
to a report submitted by High Power Caste Scrutiny Committee while
scrutinizing the caste certificate of brother of respondent No.7. A detailed
order was passed by High Power Caste Scrutiny Committee and it was
observed that he does not belong to community Halba. Therefore, he cannot
take advantage of said caste which is ST community in the State of
Maharashtra. It is his case that under the strength of said caste certificate,
respondent No.7 has obtained job in the State of Madhya Pradesh and is
continuing in service. He was not entitled to take advantage of said
certificate as certificate of his brother has already been cancelled. Therefore,
an innocuous prayer is made to direct the High Power Caste Scrutiny
Committee to consider and verify the caste certificate of respondent No.7 in
the light of guidelines framed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case
o f Kumari Madhuri Patil and Another Vs. Addl. Commr., Tribal
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Development and Others reported in (1994) 6 SCC 241, wherein it has been
held as under:-
"13. The admission wrongly gained or appointment
wrongly obtained on the basis of false social status
certificate necessarily has the effect of depriving the
genuine Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or OBC
candidates as enjoined in the Constitution of the
benefits conferred on them by the Constitution. The
genuine candidates are also denied admission to
educational institutions or appointments to office or
posts under a State for want of social status certificate.
The ineligible or spurious persons who falsely gained
entry resort to dilatory tactics and create hurdles in
completion of the inquiries by the Scrutiny Committee.
It is true that the applications for admission to
educational institutions are generally made by a parent,
since on that date many a time the student may be a
minor. It is the parent or the guardian who may play
fraud claiming false status certificate. It is, therefore,
necessary that the certificates issued are scrutinised at
the earliest and with utmost expedition and promptitude.
For that purpose, it is necessary to streamline the
procedure for the issuance of social status certificates,
their scrutiny and their approval, which may be the
following:
1. The application for grant of social status
certificate shall be made to the Revenue Sub-
Divisional Officer and Deputy Collector or
Deputy Commissioner and the certificate
shall be issued by such officer rather than at
the Officer, Taluk or Mandal level.
2. The parent, guardian or the candidate, as
the case may be, shall file an affidavit duly
sworn and attested by a competent gazetted
officer or non-gazetted officer with
particulars of castes and sub-castes, tribe,
tribal community, parts or groups of tribes or
tribal communities, the place from which he
originally hails from and other particulars as
may be prescribed by the Directorate
concerned.
3. Application for verification of the caste
certificate by the Scrutiny Committee shall
be filed at least six months in advance before
seeking admission into educational institution
or an appointment to a post.
4. All the State Governments shall constitute
a Committee of three officers, namely, (I) an
Additional or Joint Secretary or any officer
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high-er in rank of the Director of the
department concerned, (II) the Director,
Social Welfare/Tribal Welfare/Backward
Class Welfare, as the case may be, and (III)
in the case of Scheduled Castes another
officer who has intimate knowledge in the
verification and issuance of the social status
certificates. In the case of the Scheduled
Tribes, the Research Officer who has intimate
knowledge in identifying the tribes, tribal
communities, parts of or groups of tribes or
tribal communities.
5. Each Directorate should constitute a
vigilance cell consisting of Senior Deputy
Superintendent of Police in over-all charge
and such number of Police Inspectors to
investigate into the social status claims. The
Inspector would go to the local place of
residence and original place from which the
candidate hails and usually resides or in case
of migration to the town or city, the place
from which he originally hailed from. The
vigilance officer should personally verify and
collect all the facts of the social status
claimed by the candidate or the parent or
guardian, as the case may be. He should also
examine the school records, birth registration,
if any. He should also examine the parent,
guardian or the candidate in relation to their
caste etc. or such other persons who have
knowledge of the social status of the
candidate and then submit a report to the
Directorate together with all particulars as
envisaged in the pro forma, in particular, of
the Scheduled Tribes relating to their peculiar
anthropological and ethnological traits, deity,
rituals, customs, mode of marriage, death
ceremonies, method of burial of dead bodies
etc. by the castes or tribes or tribal
communities concerned etc.
6. The Director concerned, on receipt of the
report from the vigilance officer if he found
the claim for social status to be "not genuine"
or 'doubtful' or spurious or falsely or
wrongly claimed, the Director concerned
should issue show-cause notice supplying a
copy of the report of the vigilance officer to
the candidate by a registered post with
acknowledgement due or through the head of
the educational institution concerned in
which the candidate is studying or employed.
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The notice should indicate that the
representation or reply, if any, would be
made within two weeks from the date of the
receipt of the notice and in no case on request
not more than 30 days from the date of the
receipt of the notice. In case, the candidate
seeks for an opportunity of hearing and
claims an inquiry to be made in that behalf,
the Director on receipt of such
representation/reply shall convene the
committee and the Joint/Additional Secretary
as Chairperson who shall give reasonable
opportunity to the candidate/parent/guardian
to adduce all evidence in support of their
claim. A public notice by beat of drum or any
other convenient mode may be published in
the village or locality and if any person or
association opposes such a claim, an
opportunity to adduce evidence may be given
to him/it. After giving such opportunity either
in person or through counsel, the Committee
may make such inquiry as it deems expedient
and consider the claims vis-à-vis the
objections raised by the candidate or
opponent and pass an appropriate order with
brief reasons in support thereof.
7. In case the report is in favour of the
candidate and found to be genuine and true,
no further action need be taken except where
the report or the particulars given are
procured or found to be false or fraudulently
obtained and in the latter event the same
procedure as is envisaged in para 6 be
followed.
8. Notice contemplated in para 6 should be
issued to the parents/guardian also in case
candidate is minor to appear before the
Committee with all evidence in his or their
support of the claim for the social status
certificates.
9. The inquiry should be completed as
expeditiously as possible preferably by day-
to-day proceedings within such period not
exceeding two months. If after inquiry, the
Caste Scrutiny Committee finds the claim to
be false or spurious, they should pass an
order cancelling the certificate issued and
confiscate the same. It should communicate
within one month from the date of the
conclusion of the proceedings the result of
enquiry to the parent/guardian and the
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applicant.
10. In case of any delay in finalising the
proceedings, and in the meanwhile the last
date for admission into an educational
institution or appointment to an officer post,
is getting expired, the candidate be admitted
by the Principal or such other authority
competent in that behalf or appointed on the
basis of the social status certificate already
issued or an affidavit duly sworn by the
parent/guardian/candidate before the
competent officer or non-official and such
admission or appointment should be only
provisional, subject to the result of the
inquiry by the Scrutiny Committee.
11. The order passed by the Committee shall
be final and conclusive only subject to the
proceedings under Article 226 of the
Constitution.
12. No suit or other proceedings before any
other authority should lie.
13. The High Court would dispose of these
cases as expeditiously as possible within a
period of three months. In case, as per its
procedure, the writ petition/miscellaneous
petition/matter is disposed of by a Single
Judge, then no further appeal would lie
against that order to the Division Bench but
subject to special leave under Article 136.
14. In case, the certificate obtained or social
status claimed is found to be false, the
parent/guardian/the candidate should be
prosecuted for making false claim. If the
prosecution ends in a conviction and sentence
of the accused, it could be regarded as an
offence involving moral turpitude,
disqualification for elective posts or offices
under the State or the Union or elections to
any local body, legislature or Parliament.
15. As soon as the finding is recorded by the
Scrutiny Committee holding that the
certificate obtained was false, on its
cancellation and confiscation simultaneously,
it should be communicated to the educational
institution concerned or the appointing
authority by registered post with
acknowledgement due with a request to
cancel the admission or the appointment. The
Principal etc. of the educational institution
responsible for making the admission or the
appointing authority, should cancel the
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admission/appointment without any further
notice to the candidate and debar the
candidate from further study or continue in
office in a post."
4 . Learned counsel for the State has no objection to the innocuous
prayer and submitted that at least 90 days time be granted to the State
Authorities to verify the caste certificate of respondent No.7.
5. Prayer appears to be reasonable.
6 . Under these circumstances, this petition is disposed of directing
the High Power Caste Scrutiny Committee to verify the caste certificate
(Annexure-P/1) of respondent No.7 after following due procedure of law and
taking note of the directions given by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case
of Kumari Madhuri Patil (supra) .
7. The entire exercise of verification of caste certificate be completed
within a period of 90 days from the date of receipt of certified copy of this
order.
8. A copy of this order be communicated to the petitioner, respondent
No.7 as well as to High Power Caste Scrutiny Committee concerned for
compliance and the report be placed before this Court for perusal.
9. With aforesaid observations, the petition is finally disposed of. No
order as to costs.
(VISHAL MISHRA)
JUDGE
Shbhnkr
