Caste determination - Failure to appreciate documentary evidence - Effect -- Appeal allowed.

Anand vs Committee For Scrutiny and Verification of Tribe Claims and others  [SUPREME COURT OF INDIA, 08 Nov 2011]

Constitution - Administrative - Service - Maharashtra Scheduled Tribes (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of) Certificate Rules, 2003 - Caste determination - Failure to appreciate documentary evidence - Effect - Appellant was appointed as field officer by 2nd respondent Board against a post reserved for 'Scheduled Tribe' and the appointment was subject to the production of Caste Validity Certificate - Appellant made an application to the 1st respondent Caste Scrutiny Committee claiming that he belonged to Halbi Scheduled Tribe - On the basis of the enquiry by Vigilance Officer, 1st respondent came to the conclusion that the appellant did not belong to Halbi Scheduled Tribe - Caste certificate issued by the Sub Divisional Magistrate, was thus, cancelled - Appellant challenged the 1st respondent's order before the HC - HC dismissed appellant's writ petition - Whether the 1st respondent had properly appreciated the documentary evidence produced by the appellant - Held, claim of the appellant was not examined properly - Documentary evidence produced by the appellant in support of his claim had been lightly brushed aside by the Vigilance Officer as also by the 1st respondent - HC had rejected appellant's claim solely on the basis of the affinity test - Some of the documents produced by the appellants date back to the pre-Independence era, issued to his grandfather and thus, hold great probative value as there could be no reason for suppression of facts to claim a non-existent benefit to the 'Halbi' Scheduled Tribe at that point of time - From the documents produced by the appellant, it appeared that his near paternal relatives had been regarded as belonging to the 'Halbi' Scheduled Tribe - Vigilance Officer's report did not indicate that the documents produced by the appellant in support of his claim were false - It merely referred to the comments made by the Head Master with reference to the school records of appellant's father's maternal brother and his aunt, which had been alleged to be tampered with, to change the entry from Koshti Halba to Halba and nothing more - Neither the Head Master was examined, nor any further enquiry was conducted to verify the veracity of Head Master's statement - Documentary evidence produced by the appellant was not examined and appreciated in its proper perspective and the HC laid undue stress on the affinity test - Thus, the decision of the 1st respondent to cancel and confiscate the caste certificate as well as the decision of the HC, affirming the said decision was untenable - Hence, the claim of the appellant deserves to be re-examined by the 1st respondent - Decisions of 1st respondent and the HC were set aside and the case was remitted back to the 1st respondent for fresh consideration in accordance with the relevant rules - Appeal allowed.