COLLECTOR BILASPUR Vs. AJIT P K JOGI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These four appeals by special leave are filed against the judgment dated 15.12.2006 of the Chhattisgarh High Court in WP No. 2080 of 2011. As the ranks of parties differ, they are referred to by their ranks in CA No. 4069/2008.

(2.) The first Respondent (Ajit P.K. Jogi) claimed that he belonged to a tribal community known as Kanwar, a notified Scheduled Tribe. He obtained social status/caste certificates from time to time, showing him as belonging to Kanwar-Scheduled Tribe, that is, certificate dated 6.6.1967 from the Naib Tehsildar, Pendra Road, Bilaspur, certificate dated 27.2.1984 by the Naib Tehsildar, Pendra Road, Bilaspur, certificate dated 6.3.1986 by the Tehsildar, Pendra Road, certificate dated 12.1.1993 by the Naib Tehsildar, Pendra Road, Bilaspur, certificate dated 11.8.1999 by Naib Tehsildar, Indore, certificate dated 8.1.2001 from the Addl. Collector, Bilaspur and certificate dated 30.9.2003 by Addl. Collector, Bilaspur. The first Respondent was elected twice to Rajya Sabha and contested two parliamentary elections from Raigarh and Shahdol constituencies. He successfully contested from Marwahi Vidhan Sabha constituency reserved for Scheduled Tribes in 1991. On 1.11.2000, when the State of Chhattisgarh came into existence, the first Respondent became its first Chief Minister and served in that capacity till December, 2002.

(3.) In the year 2001, the sixth Respondent filed a complaint before the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (the third Respondent herein, for short Commission) alleging that the first Respondent was a Christian and that he did not belong to a Scheduled Tribe; and that he had obtained several false caste certificates showing him as belonging to Kanwar Scheduled Tribe and had contested elections from a constituency reserved for Scheduled Tribes. He requested that appropriate action be taken in that behalf.