ARABINDA KUMAR SAHA Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS judgment and order of ours will dispose of Appeal No 145/ 95 and Appeal No. 146/98 which have been filed by the two brothers against the common judgment of the learned Single Judge dated 13.5.1998 by which two writ petitions Civil Rule No. 2544/96 and Civil Rule No. 4980/96 were disposed of. The facts and the point of law in both the cases are almost identical. The facts are being taken from W.A. No. 145/1995.

(2.) THE appellant herein Sri Arabinda Kumar Saha was born out of the wedlock between Basanta Kumar Saha of general category, i.e., caste Hindu, (in other words not belonging to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe or a backward classs) and Smt. Subhadra Das belonging to the Kaibarta Community a Scheduled Caste in the State of Assam. He was born on 1.8.1947. In other words he was the child of a non -Scheduled Caste father and Scheduled Caste mother. In 1967 the appellant -writ petitioner applied for grant of certificate as belonging to Scheduled Caste. It is the case of the appellant that he had duly disclosed that his father belonged to general category and was not a Scheduled Caste and mother belonged to a Scheduled Caste community. Appropriate authority, i.e. Additional Deputy Commissioner, Dhubri, gave the petitioner a caste Certificate as belonging to Scheduled Caste category on 12.6.1967. The relevant portion of the certificate is reproduced below : -

(3.) ON the basis of the complaint an enquiry was instituted and an EAC was asked to hold the enquiry whereupon a show cause notice was issued to the appellant. The appellant while showing cause stated that he has been brought up in the community of the Scheduled Caste and he has been accepted in that community and his mother and father were residing together. However, the enquiry report went against the appellant holding that he could not be said to be belonging to the Scheduled Caste community inasmuch as his father was a non -scheduled caste and he was under his influence and had really been brought up by the father which did not entitle him to claim that he belonged to the Scheduled Caste community. An order was passed on the basis of the enquiry cancelling the certificate granted to the appellant which was given to him on 12.6.1967. This led the appellant to file the writ petition. However the learned Single Judge did not agree with the petitioner and dismissed the writ petition. Hence the appeal.