Leading Judgements on ST Community Certificate Issues

Abstract

The incidences of persons not belonging to scheduled tribes snatching the reservation benefits of Scheduled Tribes spuriously claiming that they belong to Schedule Tribes are increasing. Article 366 (25) of the Constitution of India refers to Scheduled Tribes (STs) as those communities, who are scheduled in accordance with Article 342 of the Constitution. The criteria to notify STs is not spelt out in the Constitution. The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order 1950 was the first order issued in exercise of the powers conferred on the President under Article 342(1) of the Constitution of India. This was amended by the Parliament with the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act 108 of 1976. To streamline the procedure for issuing the community certificates and scrutinising of fake community claims, the Government of India and State Government have issued circulars from time to time and also brought enactments. In despite of all these, several persons continue to secure employment and educational benefits depriving the STs of their constitutional benefits. Various reports and orders o higher courts have found that ineligible candidates are seeking admissions in educational institutions and appointments on the basis of false caste certificates. There is a need to check this fraud by unscrupulous elements who provide or secure false community certificates and those benefit from such false certificates. The legal precedents firmly affirm that castes, once included in presidential list, form a class. Any further classification of this class would be tinkering with the presidential list and sub-classifying and redistributing reservation already made will be treated as unconstitutional and beyond legislative competence. A large number of cases have been filled in different High Courts across the country by those who have obtained certificates as |ST seeking continuation of the benefits and public authorities or activists seeking cancellation of alleged fraudulent ST certificates. This book endeavours to consolidate the key judgements of Supreme Court and different High courts on the issuance of ST certificates and the role of courts and executive authorities in dealing with the community status issues of STs. This books aims to assist the tribal rights activists, lawyers dealing with ST community status issues and the executive authorities who issue the certificates to STs and check the spurious ST community certificates.