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Aruna v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2021 INSC 362Decided 27 Jul 2021
Civil Appeal Nos. 4457-4458 of 2021
Justice Navin Sinha · Justice R. Subhash Reddy

Background

The appellant, elected President of a Municipal Council in Maharashtra, held a valid Other Backward Class ("Munnur Kapu") caste certificate issued by a competent Maharashtra authority after she migrated there from Hyderabad upon marriage. A District Caste Verification Committee wrongly refused to verify her certificate, mistakenly treating it as one issued by an out-of-state authority (which a state rule says cannot be verified), and she was consequently disqualified retrospectively from her elected post. The Bombay High Court upheld this disqualification, reasoning (incorrectly) that she had migrated for education/employment and so could not claim OBC benefits in Maharashtra.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found both the Verification Committee and the High Court had confused themselves about which rule applied. Her certificate was properly issued under Rule 6(1)(a) by the Maharashtra competent authority itself, not under the provision governing certificates issued by out-of-state authorities, and not under the provision for migrants seeking education/employment benefits. Since the certificate's genuineness was never actually in dispute, there was no legal basis to refuse verification or to disqualify her. However, since her elected term was ending in December 2021 and another person had since taken over the post, the Court held that reinstating her was not appropriate; instead, it set aside the High Court's order and gave her relief only prospectively, recognizing her caste status from the date of her certificate, without restoring her to the post.

Lesson Learnt

Caste certificates issued directly by a state's own competent authority to someone who has migrated there (as opposed to certificates merely carried over from the state of origin) must be properly verified on their own terms, and authorities should not disqualify a certificate-holder based on a misreading of which rule actually governs their certificate.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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