AJAY KUMAR Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD Mr. Parikshit Saini, the learned counsel for the petitioners in WPMS No. 124/2011 and WPMS No. 1138/2011, Mr. Yogesh Pacholia, the learned counsel for the petitioner in WPMS No. 210/2010, Mr. Anil Kumar Joshi, the learned counsel for the petitioner in WPMS No. 1948/2010, Mr. Manish Arora, the learned counsel for the petitioners in WPMS No. 2006/2010 & 208/2011, Mr. L.K. Verma, the learned counsel for the petitioner in WPMS No. 2045/2010 & 1213/2009, Mr. Lalit Tiwari, the learned counsel for the petitioner in WPMS No. 2214/2010, Mr. S.K. Shahdilya, the learned counsel for the petitioner in WPMS No. 2255/2010, Mr. Ajay Veer Pundir, the learned counsel for the petitioner in WPMS No. 138/2011, Mr. B.D. Pande, the learned counsel for the petitioners in WPMS No. 214/2011, Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma, the learned counsel for the petitioner in WPMS No. 923/2011 and Mr. S.N. Babulkar, the learned Advocate General with Mr. B.D. Upadhyaya, the learned Additional Advocate General for the State. In this group of petitions, the petitioners are aggrieved by the action of the respondents in rejecting their application for grant of a caste certificate or cancellation of the caste certificate or refusing to grant a caste certificate on the ground that the petitioners are not the original resident (Mool Niwasi) of the State of Uttarakhand. For facility, the facts of each case is narrated hereunder in brief.

(2.) IN Writ Petition No. 124 of 2011 (M/S), the petitioner is residing in District Haridwar since 1991 and belongs to a Jat caste which was notified as Other Backward Classes (hereinafter referred to as OBC) by the erstwhile State of Uttar Pradesh and the same is also notified as an OBC in the State of Uttarakhand. After the creation of the State of Uttarakhand, the petitioner was granted a permanent resident certificate by the authority on 24th June, 2010. The petitioner applied for a caste certificate, which was rejected by the Tehsildar by an order of 31st December, 2010 on the ground that the petitioner is not an original resident of Uttarakhand and that he is the original resident of District Muzaffarnagar, which is in the State of Uttar Pradesh. The impugned order admits that the petitioner was residing in District Haridwar, Uttarakhand for the past 15 -20 years.

(3.) IN Writ Petition No. 210 of 2010 (M/S), the petitioner contends that he was born in Haridwar and is residing in District Haridwar since then. The petitioner contends that he belongs to the Jat community, which falls under the OBC category in the State of Uttarakhand. The petitioner applied and was issued a permanent resident certificate as well as a caste certificate. On this basis, the petitioner applied for the post of Constable and was duly appointed, but subsequently, on a complaint being made, the matter was examined by the scrutiny committee, which found that the petitioner was not an original resident of Uttarakhand and, consequently, cancelled the caste certificate issued to the petitioner by an order of 28th May, 2009.