REENA MASIH Vs. STATE OF C.G.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Since an identical issue and common question of facts are involved in these writ petitions, they are heard analogously and are being decided by this common order.

(2.) The petitioner in WPC No. 1105/2013 has prayed for setting aside the order dtd. 11/6/2013 issued by respondent No. 2, High Power Caste Scrutiny Committee (in short 'Scrutiny Committee') by which the caste certificate of the petitioner has been set aside and it has been held that the petitioner does not belong to the 'Gond' community which is a notified Scheduled Tribe in the State of Chhattisgarh. It has further directed the employer department to take action against the petitioner in accordance with law. The petitioner in WPS No. 3611/2013 has prayed for quashing of order 30/7/2013 issued by the respondent Director Regional Leprosy Institute Raipur (Annexure P/1) by which the services of the petitioner who was working as Staff Nurse has been terminated in view of the cancellation of caste certificate by the Scrutiny Committee.

(3.) The brief facts, as reflected from the records of the WPC No. 1105/2013 are that late Shri Barnabas Sadhu, the grandfather of the petitioner originally belonged to Sarbahara village of Pendra Tehsil in the Bilaspur District. The grandfather of the petitioner was born in the year 1895-96 at village Sarbahra and died in the year 1979. He told his wife Smt. R. Sadhu that his parents were from Gond community of Sarbahra and his parents died when he was 4 years old. He was taken care of by the Missionary of Pendra Road. He was sent to Damoh Mission Boarding along with other orphan boys and he was given biblical name as Barnbas, son of Prabhudas Sadhu, by the missionaries. He embraced Christianity from Gond community in the year 1915. It is further submitted that after completion of his studies from Damoh Mission School, the grandfather of the petitioner was sent by the Missionaries to his native place at village Sarbahra in Pendra Tehsil, District Bilaspur, where he became the first Head Master and in the year 1931-32 he constructed a house at Sarbahra but later on sold the same to one Shri Mangal Badi as he left the job and went to Bishrampur, Tehsil Baloda Bazar. It is further submitted that during the year 1940, grandfather of the petitioner purchased land at his wife's residence at Pendridih, Jarhagaon area from late Shri Ramkishor Malgujar, and constructed his own house at Pendridih and also purchased land for cultivation. During the year 1940, Malgujari system was prevailing and a sale deed used to be executed on One Rupee stamp paper before the witness in which complete address including the caste and religion of the purchaser was recorded. Accordingly, the name of late B. Sadhu, son of Prabhudas Sadhu, Gond Isai, petitioner's grandfather was recorded in the stamp paper. It is further submitted that in the year 1982, father of the petitioner Shri P. K. Sadhu approached the Tehsildar Bilaspur for issuance of Scheduled Tribe (Gond) certificate duly supported by the statements of his mother Smt. R. Sadhu, Pastor B. L. Gulal, Rev. J. R. Singh, Mr. S.D. Rai, Mr. Kewal Dass and Shri Alexender Philiphs and the stamp paper of 1940 in favor of late Shri B. Sadhu in which the caste Gond and religion Christianity was recorded. The said stamp paper was verified by the Tehsildar and Patwari verified from the other sources and after full satisfaction, the ST (Gond) certificate was issued in favour of Shri P. K. Sadhu, father of the petitioner. The Deputy Collector duly countersigned the aforesaid certificate issued by the Tehsildar and Sanyojak, Adim Jati Kalyan Vibhag, Bilaspur and necessary entry has been made in the service book of Shri P. K. Sadhu. The original stamp paper of 1940 was, available with Smt. R. Sadhu, grandmother of the petitioner.