Supreme Court Directs Manjunatha To Approach Karnataka HC On Caste Certificate Issue

A caste certificate is used to prove membership in a certain caste as that term is defined under the Indian constitution in order to advance at the same rate as the general population.

Kothur G. Manjunatha, a Mulbagal MLA who had previously been disqualified, was urged by the Supreme Court on Thursday to appeal against the decision of the caste verification committee that he belonged to the 'Bairagi' caste, which is considered to be among the Other Backward Classes.

After hearing senior counsel Vikas Singh on behalf of the petitioner and senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi and attorney Sanjay M Nuli on behalf of the defendants, a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Vikram Nath issued the order.

The Karnataka government's caste verification committee was instructed to investigate on February 9, 2020, whether Mulbagal MLA Manjunatha belonged to the Scheduled Caste, also known as the "Budaga Jangama," or if he was from the "Bairagi" caste, which is recognised as Other Backward Classes in the state.

Manjunatha, a former independent MLA from the SC reserved area of Kolar district, was dismissed by the Karnataka High Court on April 25, 2018, on the grounds that he had presented an illegitimate caste certificate. When the court heard his appeal, it had then been recognised that the problem at hand was "complicated."

“The complexity arises from the facts of the occupation, habits, rituals, customs and deities of the two castes. One complexity arises from the fact that the Kolar Gazetteer states that the persons belonging to the ‘Budaga Jangama’ caste are also known by names such as ‘Mala Sanyasi’, ‘Bairagi’, etc, in different parts of the state.” the bench had said.

Criteria For Issuing Caste Certificate in India

The certifying agency will confirm and verify that before granting a caste certificate that:

The caste certificate or tribe certificate that one is claiming is one of the presidential orders that are periodically issued in accordance with Articles 341 and 342 of the constitution.

The applicant belongs to the aforementioned caste or tribe, and they usually live in the concerned state or a part of it.

Caste Certificates are issued, verified, and revoked by representatives of the various State Governments. Each state government has a unique strategy or method for dealing with this. Action will be taken against a government employee who is found to be in possession of a false SC caste certificate in order to obtain an appointment but who was not qualified or eligible under the terms of the recruitment rules etc. for initial recruitment, according to the Department of Personnel and Training's 0.M.No.11012/7/91-Estt. (A) dated 19-5-93. Such a person's employment will be terminated if they are a probationary or temporary government worker.

Also a CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965, Rule 14 investigation may be performed if the person has been hired as a permanent government employee. If the charges are proven to be accurate, the government employee should be fired. Let us now connect you with skilled lawyers from Vakilsearch who can quickly obtain your caste certificate by obtaining all the required reports from the sub-registrar office. Visit their website right away to request a free consultation!

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