Case Note & Summary
The petitioner, Deepak Ramdas Myatrekar, was issued a Tribe Certificate by the Tahsildar, Jalna on 18.06.1987. He was temporarily appointed by the MSRTC on 28.01.1994, which forwarded his tribe claim for validation to the Committee. However, he left MSRTC within a year. On 12.02.1996, the Zilla Parishad, Jalna appointed him as a Junior Accountant on a post reserved for ST category. The Zilla Parishad forwarded a proposal for validation of his claim to the Committee. The Committee, by order dated 19.01.2017, cancelled the certificate due to a spelling mistake of 'w' written in place of 'v' in 'Mannervarlu', with liberty to obtain a properly spelled certificate in Form C. The petitioner obtained a fresh certificate with correct spelling in Form C on 07.08.2017 from the S.D.O. Jalna. The petitioner filed two writ petitions challenging the Committee's order and seeking restoration of the certificate. The Court considered the submissions and held that the cancellation was not justified as the error was minor. The Court set aside the Committee's order and directed the Committee to reconsider the validation afresh on merits, considering the corrected certificate and other relevant documents, within three months.
Headnote
A) Service Law - Scheduled Tribe Certificate - Validation - Spelling Error - The Committee cancelled the petitioner's tribe certificate due to a spelling mistake of 'w' in place of 'v' in 'Mannervarlu', with liberty to obtain a fresh certificate in Form C. The Court held that the cancellation was not justified as the error was minor and the petitioner had obtained a corrected certificate. The Court directed the Committee to reconsider the validation afresh on merits, considering the corrected certificate and other relevant documents. (Paras 4-6) B) Service Law - Scheduled Tribe Certificate - Reconsideration - Directions - The Court set aside the Committee's order dated 19.01.2017 and directed the Committee to decide the validation of the petitioner's tribe claim afresh, after giving an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, within a period of three months from the date of the judgment. (Para 6)
Issue of Consideration
Whether the Scheduled Tribe Caste Certificate Verification Committee was justified in cancelling the petitioner's tribe certificate solely on the ground of a spelling mistake in the caste name 'Mannervarlu' and whether the petitioner is entitled to restoration of the certificate or a fresh consideration.
Final Decision
The Court allowed both writ petitions, set aside the Committee's order dated 19.01.2017, and directed the Committee to reconsider the validation of the petitioner's tribe claim afresh on merits, after giving an opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, within a period of three months from the date of the judgment.
Law Points
- Tribe certificate validation
- spelling error in caste name
- cancellation with liberty to obtain fresh certificate
- reconsideration by committee
- natural justice
