Bombay HC on Tuesday "cancelled and confiscated" a caste certificate which it held was "fraudulently obtained" by Navneet Rana, independent MP from Amravati and imposed a cost of Rs 2 lakh on her. The amount has to be paid to Maharashtra Legal Services Authority within two weeks.
The 36-year-old Rana was elected in the May 2019 Lok Sabha Elections from a reserved seat.
The HC set aside her caste certificate and a 2017 order validating the certificate of her belonging to the ‘Mochi’ Scheduled Caste and directed her to surrender her caste certificate within six weeks.
The HC bench of Justices R D Dhanuka and V G Bisht passed the judgment in a batch of three petitions, two by her opponents in 2018 and 2019, and one filed by her in 2020. It dismissed her petition observing that she had “committed a fraud on the Constitution."
Rana is likely to appeal before the Supreme Court.
“In our view the caste claim made by (her) for obtaining a caste certificate as Schedule Caste itself was fraudulent and was made with intention to obtain various benefits available to a candidate from such Schedule Caste category knowing well that she does not belong to that caste,… made intentionally to make a fraudulent claim to enable (her) to contest an election for member of Parliament on the seat reserved for a Scheduled Caste candidate," said the HC.
“Fraudulent acts are not encouraged by the Courts. The constitution does not postulate conferment of any special benefit on those who do not belong to the category of SC/ST people for whom the provision was made," the HC in its 108 page judgment said.
The scrutiny committee’s order in accepting her claim on the basis of two “fabricated” documents— a rent agreement of 1932 of her great-grandfather and a 2014 college certificate, is “totally perverse’’ the HC held. “In our view, there were two sets of documents produced" which were “contradictory’’ to each other, said the HC.
She had claimed to be ‘Sikh Chamar’ as well as “Ravidasiya Mochi" said the HC adding, “In our view, the term ‘Chamar’ and ‘Mochi’ are not synonymous and are different identity.’’
"Her original birth certificate did not mention the caste Mochi," said the HC and the committee had accepted a 2014 certificate recording her caste as ‘Sikh Chamar’ issued by a college as admissible evidence.
Rana “failed to discharge her burden by producing authentic and clear evidence" under the Caste Certificate Act, held the HC.
It added that though she claims to have a big family, she “failed to produce any caste validity certificate in favour of any member of her family or relative certifying caste as Mochi since 1950 in support of her caste claim.’’
“Abdicating its responsibility and duty, the Scrutiny Committee chose to remain discreet,’’ and it was “aghast at the eerie silence’’ of the committee at certain questions and held that such committees have to be independent, the court said.
The bench also said the scrutiny committee’s order was “abysmal’’, lacking in a “judicious approach’’ and seem to be “swayed by extenuating circumstances.’’
The committee has the “trappings of judicial function and therefore requires a high degree of sensible approach with all circumspection,’’ the HC said, cautioning such committee to be careful in its “solemn duty.’’
The two petitions filed by her political opponents A V Adsul, 71, and Raju Mankar, 49, challenged the November 2017 order of a Mumbai suburban district caste certificate scrutiny committee validating Rana’s caste claim as a ‘Mochi’— Scheduled Caste. Through their counsel C M Korde and Pramod Patil they also sought orders to quash her caste certificate issued by a Mumbai deputy collector on August 30, 2013.
Rana through her counsel Prasad Dhakephalkar sought a declaration that her documents dating back to 1894-1895, 1920 and her school leaving certificate from Kartika high school in Kurla establishes her as being a Scheduled Caste member as a ‘Mochi’. Her petition also challenged a part of the 2017 finding of the District caste scrutiny committee in Mumbai which negated these ‘oldest’ documents.
The HC judgment said though the caste Chamar is included, admittedly ‘Sikh Chamar is not included in entry 11’’ of the Schedule II of the Constitution of India (Scheduled Caste).
The HC said, “Under Section 7 of the Caste Certificate Act, it is mandatory duty of the Caste Scrutiny Committee to cancel and confiscate caste certificate suo-moto or otherwise by calling for the record and after enquiry to the correctness of such certificate, if it is of the opinion that the certificate was obtained fraudulently by a person not belonging to any of the Schedule Castes, Scheduled Tribes, De-notified Tribes (Vimukta Jatis), Nomadic Tribes, Other Backward Classes or Special Backward Category.’’
The committee has to hear the person who holds the certificate.
In this case, the HC said the committee failed in its duty to cancel her caste certificate though complaints against Rana had “demonstrated” that she had been issued a caste certificate fraudulently.
The scrutiny committee by accepting the two documents "caused injustice to the petitioners'' said the HC judgment, adding "The outcome of such enquiry and validating a caste certificate affects public at large in every sector, may be at the stage of seeking admission in any school or college or even at the stage of applying for employment or even while contesting an election in perpetuity. A wrong caste validity certificate granted in favour of the party who does not belong to that caste may deprive a genuine and deserving person belonging to such reserve category of the caste and of the benefits and all the benefits prescribed in the Constitution of India.''
The HC also observed that “all the consequences in law provided upon cancellation of such fraudulently obtained caste certificate and caste validity certificate shall follow.’’ There is an election petition against her 2019 victory pending before the Nagpur bench of the HC.
(With inputs from agencies)