HC judge slams practice of producing false caste certificates
After he attained superannuation in 2018, the terminal benefits including pension, leave encashment, commutation were not paid, said the petitioner.
Madras High Court
CHENNAI: Justice N Mala of the Madras High Court lashed out at the practice of producing false caste certificates for getting employment and education, lamenting that the nation isn’t able to reach Ambedkar’s dream of a casteless society because of such unscrupulous elements.
It is unfortunate that the truly deserving persons are deprived of their rights due to those indulging in producing false certificates, the judge observed. It is no wonder that the dream of Ambedkar, of achieving the goal of a casteless and classless society still remains a dream, the judge commented.
A division bench of the Madras High Court (MHC) comprising Justice J Nisha Banu and Justice N Mala was looking into a petition moved by a litigant named V Perumal seeking to quash an order dating back to 2020, through which his Scheduled Tribe (ST) community certificate issued by the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare (ADTW) department was cancelled terming it false.
According to the petitioner, he joined the Bank of Baroda in the year 1989 under the reservation category earmarked for Katunayaka Scheduled Tribe (ST) community. After he attained superannuation in 2018, the terminal benefits including pension, leave encashment, commutation were not paid, said the petitioner.
The bank is not settling the petitioner’s due retirement benefits including pension as the state-level committee of ADTW found his community certificate, submitted during his employment, to be false. The committee found he belonged to the Ottar community and not the Kattunayakan community.
But the two judges differed over legal issues of the case. They gave a split verdict as the two judges looked through different prisms of the constitution.
Justice Nisha Banu cited the Supreme Court’s judgement in Kumari Madhuri Patil’s case and the memorandum issued by the Parliamentary Committee on the welfare of scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes that stipulates 1995 as the cut-off date from which verification process to check the veracity of the caste certificates of candidates availing reservations. Hence the judge allowed the petition and directed the bank to pay all retirement benefits that accrue to the petitioner.
However, Justice Mala took up a different perspective and differed from the verdict given by Justice Nisha Banu. Justice Mala observed that it would be absurd and unreasonable as such an interpretation will be putting a premium on fraud. She cited instances of fabricating caste certificates.