PETITIONER:
S. NAGARAJAN
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR,SALEM & ORS.
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 13/01/1997
BENCH:
K. RAMASWAMY, G.T. NANAVATI
ACT
HEADNOTE
JUDGMENT
ORDER.
Leave granted.
The appeal by special leave arises from the judgment of the Division Bench of the Madras High Court made on August 19,1996 in writ Appeal No.166 of 1996.
The appellant claimed his status as scheduled tribe (Konda Reddy) and had appeared in central civil services Examination held in 1985, his status was doubted by the union public service commission and an enquiry was directed to be made. During enquiry, the Tehsildar found that the certificated of social status given by the Deputy Tehsildar was not correct and was without jurisdiction and accordingly cancelled the said certificate. the appellant filed a writ petition and the high court directed fresh enquiry in that behalf after giving notice to the appellant After giving notice the Tehsildar cancelled the certificate given to the appellant which was again challenged by way of another writ petition. The High Court again directed that the matter be enquired by the R.D.O. The R.D.O. also found the appellant to be not a scheduled Tribe. the appellant made third attempt by filing writ petition in the High Court. The High court directed the collector to personally enquire into the matter after giving reasonable opportunity to the appellant and to pass a speaking order. thereafter the collector did not belong to the scheduled tribe community, Calling that action in question, the appellant filed writ petition. Learned Single Judge by order dated December 18,1995 upheld the order of the District Collector with the finding that the appellant was given opportunity to prove his tribal traits and also that the appellant was unable to give any proof in support of his claim that he belongs to scheduled tribe community and as such the certificate granted by the Deputy Tehsildar was rightly cancelled as the same was without jurisdiction. It was also found that the parsons who had stated earlier in favor of the appellant as to his community and status at the behest of the appellant’s father who retired as commissioner resiled thereafter. Therefore, their statements that the appellant a member of the scheduled tribes could not be relied upon. Learned Judge has also accepted the reasoning of the collector that the father of the appellant who was in Government service had not claimed his status to be a member of scheduled tribe . Had he been a member of scheduled tribe community it was unlikely that he would have omitted to claim his said status. In the school certificate of the appellant, his caste was originally noted as Hindu Reddiar and subsequently the word "Konda" had been added. Equally, in entry in the school admission register the caste as originally noted as Hindu Reddiar and subsequently the word "Konda" was added subsequently, that too in different ink . In other words , he is a member of forward caste and there is no signature on the correction of word ’konda’ by the concerned . Headmaster. Thus, it appears to have been so made as to be consistent with the interpolation made in the school certificate of the appellant. Having regard to these facts the learned single judge has held thus:
"13. The fact that the petitioner’s
father subsequently claimed to be a
joint secretary of the Madurai unit
of the state konda Reddy
Association and the president of
that Association claimed to be a
grand uncle of the petitioner does
not help the petitioner to
establish his claim that he is a
kondareddi.
14. The petitioner was
required to establish before the
collector that he belonged to
kondareddi community No attempt was
made to establish that the customs
and his family are those of the
tribal group of kondareddi, what
was sought to be established by the
petitioner was that in certain
documents such as school admission
register and sale deeds the cast of
the petitioner of his relatives was
mentioned as kondareddi such
description of the petitioner’s
father had become aware of the
benefit available to the
kondareddi, even though he himself
at no point of time claimed to have
belong to the scheduled available
to from a reliable basis for
holding that the petitioner is a
kondareddi, his membership of tribe
has to be established with
reference not merely to his
documents wherein not merely to the
documents wherein he of his
relatives are described as
kondareddi, but by establishing the
customs habits or anthropological
dated concerning the family
from which one could reasonably
conclude that the petitioner
belongs to the tribe of kondareddi,
No such evidence was produced by
the petitioner".
It would thus be seen that the documentary evidence was brought on record to prop up retrograde status of scheduled tribe to snatch the constitutional benefits given to the scheduled tribes.
The Division Bench after considering these facts has held thus:
"......... About the documentary
proof let in by the petitioner, the
father’s case is the proper proof
to know the caste of his son. In
the school admission register, the
caste of the writ petitioner’s
father Thiru N. Siddaraddi was
originally noted as ’Hindu Reddi’
only. Subsequently, the word
’konda has been written in it in
brackets and that too in different
ink The corrections have not been
attested by the headmaster. A
certificate issued on 2.7.1953 by
the village Munsif of kannamoochi
has been pasted in the admission
register which does not bear the
initial of signature of the
Headmaster for having accepted it
. In the transfer certificate dated
16.6.1955 also his caste has been
originally noted as Hindu Reddiar
and subsequently the word ’konda’
has been added. Even accepting that
the correction in the Admission
Register had actually been made in
the year 1953 itself on the
strength of the Village Munsif
certificate dated 2.7.1953,
the caste in the T.C. would have
been noted as Hindu konda Reddi in
the first instance itself. Even in
the service Register of Siddareddy
it has been noted as Hindu/Reddi
(konda). Hence it is patently clear
that the caste noted in patently
clear that the caste noted in the
admission register was not
corrected in the year 1953 but was
corrected long after the entry of
Thiru Siddareddy into government
service . The other documents filed
by the petitioner do not support
the claim that the writ petitioner
is a kondareddi.
2. It is an established
position of law that though
jurisdiction under Art.226 of the
constitution is wide, but
nevertheless it cannot be exercised
as an appellate jurisdiction and it
is not open to this court to
appreciate the evidence stand come
to its own conclusion as long as it
is show that the fact finding
authority has followed the
provision of law correctly and
appreciated the evidence in a
reasonable manner. In other words
the approach of the fact finding
authority not being perverse and
unreasonable and not being vitiated
by non-consideration of the of the
evidence on record, the fact that
this Court can come to a different
conclusion on the very same
evidence would not be a ground for
interference. Added to that would
not be a round for interference.
Added to that , while considering a
similar issue, the supreme court in
Madhuri Patil V. Additional
commissioner tribal Development
(A.I.R. 1995 S.C. 94) has held as
follows:
"The question then is whether
the approach adopted by the high
court in not elaborately
considering the case is vitiated by
an error of law. High Court is not
a Court of appeal to appreciate the
evidence. the committee which is
empowered to evaluate the evidence
placed before it when record a
finding of fact, it ought to
prevail unless found vitiated by
judicial review of any High Court
subject to limitations of
interference with findings of fact.
The committee when considers all
the material facts and record a
finding, though another view, as a
court of appeal may be possible it
is not a ground to reverse the
findings. The court has to see
whether the committee considered
all the relevant material placed
before it or has not applied its
mind to relevant facts which have
led the committee ultimately
recorded the finding. Each case
must be considered in the back drop
of its own facts."
3. Further, in a case link
this the determining factor is the
community to which the father of
the writ petitioner belonged. In
the writ petitioner belonged. In
the instant case the father of the
writ petitioner never claimed that
he was a kondareddi even though he
was a Government servant.
kondareddy is recognised as a
scheduled tribe. Any person
entitled to such a benefit, would
never fail to avail such a benefit
would never fail to the writ
petitioner was a kondareddy, as
such he was a scheduled tribe and
entitled to all the benefits he had
not done so the community of the
father of the writ petitioner, in
paragraph 12 has observed as
follows:
"It is apparent that
petitioner’s father was fully aware
when he entered father was fully
aware when he entered government
service that he did not belong to
any scheduled tribe he has
attempted to take advantage of the
name ‘Redd’ being part of the name
of scheduled tribe ‘konda Reddy’
so that the same may be entered in
the petitioner’s school records
such entries cannot confer the
status of scheduled tribes the
claim made on the basis of such
records is in the words of apex
Court in the case of Madhuri Patil
is one of pseudo status’".
The court in several cases has negatived the claim even when the claimants father had enjoyed the status of scheduled tribe on the basis of the finding made in the enquiry that basis of the finding made in the enquiry that he did not belong to scheduled tribes. this is a converse case.
Shri Vaidyanathan, learned senior counsel appearing for the appellant contends that view expressed by the court below is not correct and in view of the fact that the appellant’s grand father had entered the status of konda Reddy a scheduled tribe prior to 1949 it is unlikely that the appellant would fabricated the records and claim the to appreciate the evidence the collector after detailed consideration of the evidence placed by the petitioner has concluded that the appellant is not a member of schedule tribe (konda Reddy) his farther, N. Siddwareddi had never claimed this status though in the ordinary course he would have claimed to be belonging to the scheduled tribe community to avail the benefit of reservation available under state service the learned single judge was right in concluding that the appellant’s father having been in government service would not have omitted to claim his status as belonging to scheduled tribe had he really been a member of scheduled tribe community (konda Reddy). on the other hand his father was reddy which is a forward caste and that therefore the subsequent interpolation that other hand his father was reddy which is a forward cast and that therefore the subsequent ( interpolation) is not genuine and an incorrect document was thus brought into existence to claim the status as scheduled tribe it is obvious that the constitution intended of status and dignity of person by providing reservation in services of the state and in education by operation of Articles of person by providing reservation in services of the state and in education by operation of Articles 15,16 and 14 of the constitution and that therefore only the persons who are member of scheduled tribes and scheduled castes alone are entitled to the benefit By interpolation of the documents none can get a particular social status unless it is recognised as per the presidential notification/order under Article 341 or 342 to avail of the benefit of reservation made in that behalf the High court was therefore, correct in accepting the conclusion reached by the collector that the appellant had not established his status as scheduled tribe.
The appeal is accordingly dismissed. No costs.