IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU ON THE 21ST DAY OF OCTOBER 2019 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAVI MALIMATH AND THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ASHOK S. KINAGI WRIT APPEAL NO.546 OF 2018 (S-RES) BETWEEN:
SRI. H. MANJUNATH BABU SON OF LATE ABDUL AZEEZ AGED ABOUT 51 YEARS ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF POLICE J.C. NAGAR SUB-DIVISION BENGALURU-560 006.
PRESENTLY ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF POLICE CITY SPECIAL BRANCH OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE INFANTRY ROAD BENGALURU-560 001.
….APPELLANT (BY SMT. EDA NIREEKSHANA K, ADVOCATE FOR SMT. SUDHA B, ADVOCATE) AND:
1. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA BY ITS ADDITIONAL CHIEF SECRETARY DEPARTMENT OF HOME VIDHANA SOUDHA BENGALURU–560 001.
2. THE DIRECTOR GENERAL AND INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE NRUPATHUNGA ROAD BENGALURU-560 001.
3. THE ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE CIVIL RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENT THANTRIKE SHIKSHAKA BHAVAN PALACE ROAD, BENGALURU–560 001.
4. THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER AND PRESIDENT DISTRICT CASTE VERIFICATION SAMITHI CHITRADURGA DISTRICT CHITRADURGA – 577 501.
5. THE SECRETARY OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT SOCIAL WELFARE OPPOSIT GOVERNMENT SCIENCE COLLEGE GOVERNMENT RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL BUILDING, B D ROAD CHITRADURGA – 577 501.
6. THE SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE CIVIL RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENT 2ND MAIN, 2ND CROSS, SARASWATHI NAGAR B BLOCK DAVANAGERE – 577 002.
7 THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT OPPOSIT GOVERNMENT SCIENCE COLLEGE GOVERNMENT RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL BUILDING, B D ROAD CHITRADURGA – 577 501.
8. THE ENQUIRY INCHARGE DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE CIVIL RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENT 2ND MAIN, 2ND CROSS, SARASWATHINAGAR, B BLOCK, DAVANAGERE – 577 002.
…RESPONDENTS (BY SRI. C JAGADEESH, ADVOCATE FOR R-1 TO R-8) THIS WRIT APPEAL IS FILED UNDER SECTION 4 OF THE KARNATAKA HIGH COURT ACT PRAYING TO ALLOW THIS APPEAL AND THE ORDER PASSED BY THE LEARNED SINGLE JUDGE OF THIS HON’BLE COURT IN WRIT PETITION No. 41731 OF 2017 DATED 06.12.2017 MAY BE SET ASIDE AND THE SAID WRIT APPEAL MAY BE ALLOWED WITH COSTS THROUGHOUT AS PRAYED FOR.
THIS WRIT APPEAL COMING ON FOR ADMISSION THIS DAY, ASHOK S. KINAGI J., DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
JUDGMENT The appellant herein is the petitioner in the writ petition before the learned Single Judge and the respondents are the respondents. The parties are referred to as per their rank before the learned Single Judge.
2. The brief facts of the case are as under:
The petitioner was initially appointed as PSI (Civil) on 19.08.1996 and presently working as Assistant Commissioner of Police. One Venkatachalaiah, a social worker filed a complaint before the respondent No.3, to verify about the caste of the petitioner. Based on the said complaint, the matter was referred to respondent No.6 to investigate and submit a report. Respondent No.6, after investigation submitted a report stating that petitioner belongs to Muslim Community but obtained a caste certificate claiming that he belongs to Dombara caste and referred to cancel the caste certificate and take appropriate action against the petitioner. Based on the report of respondent No.6, respondent No.5 has caused a notice dated 20.04.2016 to the petitioner directing him to appear before respondent No.5 on 30.04.2016. Petitioner repeatedly requested for a copy of the said report. But to no avail. Hence the petitioner filed Writ Petition No.41731 of 2017. The learned Single Judge, after considering the report submitted by respondent No.6, dismissed the writ petition vide order dated 06.12.2017.
Aggrieved by the said order passed by the learned Single Judge, the petitioner has filed the present writ appeal.
3. Heard the arguments of the learned counsel for the parties and perused the records.
4. Petitioner contends that he was brought up in the traditional Dombara caste, but not in the Muslim community. The said contention cannot be accepted for the simple reason that the petitioner has not produced any record to show that he is following the tradition of Dombara caste. On the contrary, all the academic records of the petitioner shows that he belongs to Muslim community and he follows the tradition of Muslim community. The petitioner obtained the caste certificate showing the caste of his mother and got an employment on the basis of the said caste certificate. The caste of the mother cannot be considered, as per the Circular dated 15.10.2008, issued by the Government of Karnataka wherein it clearly prescribe that in case of inter-caste or inter- religious marriages, the caste would be of the father and not of the mother. The petitioner did not challenge the above said circular. The learned Single Judge, after considering the report of the respondent No.6 and also the circular dated 15.10.2008, issued by the Government of Karnataka, has rightly dismissed the writ petition.
5. In view of the above reasons, we are of the considered view that the petitioner has not made out any grounds to interfere with the impugned order. Hence, we proceed to pass the following:
Order The writ appeal is dismissed.
Sd/- JUDGE Sd/- JUDGE RD