BINDRA PRASAD GOND Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is the 5th round of litigation by the petitioner, who is a Driver in the Agriculture department of the Government of Uttar Pradesh, seeking restoration of his status as a Scheduled Tribe person.

(2.) By means of this writ petition the petitioner has challenged the decision of the High Powered Caste Scrutiny Committee, which has cancelled the Caste Certificate dated 17.01.2004 issued to the petitioner by which he had earlier been treated as belonging to the Gond Tribe i.e. Scheduled Tribe.

(3.) The petitioner's case is that he is the original inhabitant of village Raipur, Tehsil Jakhaniya, District Ghazipur. Initially a caste certificate was issued to him on 08.12.1993 treating him to be a Scheduled Caste as at that point of time Gond caste was included in the list of Scheduled Castes. In the year 2002, an amendment was made in the Presidential Scheduled Tribe Order and the Gond caste was included in the list of Scheduled Tribes interalia for district Ghazipur in the State of U.P.. Subsequent to the aforesaid amendment, on 17.01.2004, a caste certificate was issued to the petitioner certifying him to be belonging to a Scheduled Tribe by the competent authority of district Ghazipur, U.P..