Caste scrutiny panel has no power to reopen its past decisions of granting caste certificates: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has ruled that the State Caste Scrutiny Committee lacks the authority to independently examine historical records, reconsider its previous rulings, and annul previously issued caste validity certificates.

In an order issued on November 1, a division bench comprising Justices G S Kulkarni and Jitendra Jain stated that the Caste Scrutiny Committee, as per the law, does not possess the authority to reassess its own decisions. The order, released on Friday, highlighted this lack of jurisdiction for the committee.

It added that such an inherent power would lead to a monumental uncertainty and absurdity in the functioning of the committee as it can be at the ipse dixit of the Caste Scrutiny Committee to reopen concluded cases.

This would lead to patent arbitrariness, the court said. The bench allowed 10 petitions filed by government employees assailing the suo motu orders passed by the Caste Scrutiny Committee last year invalidating the caste certificates issued to them between the period 1992 to 2005.

The petitioners belong to the Scheduled Tribes Koli Mahadeo, Thakur and Thakar groups. The high court in its order noted that a caste certificate granted to someone can be questioned only on a prima facie satisfaction of the high court. There cannot be a free hand or license to the Caste Scrutiny Committee to reopen concluded cases of validity being conferred by it by its earlier orders to be revisited or re-examined on a complaint or otherwise and review its orders, the HC said.

Thus, in our opinion, the Caste Scrutiny Committee, being a statutory body exercising quasi adjudicatory functions, would not have any jurisdiction to suo motu verify past records and initiate an action to reopen past decisions and invalidate the caste validity certificates already granted, the HC said.