IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 6TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2017 BEFORE THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE RAGHVENDRA S. CHAUHAN WRIT PETITION NO.41731 OF 2017 (S-RES) BETWEEN:
SRI H. MANJUNATH BABU S/O. LATE ABDUL AZEEZ, AGED ABOUT 51 YEARS, PRESENTLY ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF POLICE, J.C. NAGAR SUB-DIVISION, BENGALURU.
... PETITIONER (BY SMT. NIREEKSHANA K., ADV. FOR SMT. B. SUDHA) 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, NRUPATUNGA ROAD, BENGALURU – 560 001.
3. THE ADDITIONAL DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE, CIVIL RIGHTS ENFORECEMENT 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, OPP. 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, SARASWATHINAGAR ‘B’ BLOCK, DAVANAGERE – 577 002.
7. THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT, OPP. 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 VENKATESH M. DODDERI, A.G.A.) * * * THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, PRAYING TO QUASH THE REPORT DATED 13-9-2013 FILED BY RESPONDENT NO.6 VIDE ANNEXURE-B AGAINST THE PETITIONER HEREIN AND ETC.
THIS WRIT PETITION COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING, THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
O R D E R The petitioner, Mr. H. Manjunath Babu, has challenged the legality of the order dated 13-9-2013, issued by the Civil Rights Enforcement Department, whereby the Superintendent of Police has submitted a report to the Additional Director General of Police. The petitioner has also sought the relief from this Court that no further proceedings should be initiated on the basis of the said report.
2. The brief facts of the case are that the petitioner was initially appointed on 19-8-1996 as P.S.I. (Civil) and was working under the Director General and Inspector General of Police. Presently, he is working as the Assistant Commissioner of Police, J.C. Nagar Sub-division, Bengaluru. During the course of his service, one Venkatachalaiah, a Social worker of Hiriyur Taluk, Chitradurga District, filed a complaint with regard to caste to which the petitioner claimed to belong to. Based on the said complaint, the Additional Director General of Police directed the respondent No.6, the Superintendent of Police, to investigate the matter and submit his report. After a thorough investigation, on 13-9-2013, the Superintendent of Police submitted his report before the Additional Director General of Police. According to the report, it was discovered that the petitioner does not belong to Dombara caste, which is shown as Scheduled Caste community. But, in fact, he belongs to the Muslim community. Therefore, the petitioner was not justified in seeking his employment on the basis of a Caste Certificate, wherein he was shown as belonging to the Dombara caste. On 23-5-2014, the Additional Director General of Police forwarded the said report to the respondent No.4, the Deputy Commissioner and to the President of District Caste Verification Samithi. Moreover, on the basis of said report, respondent No.5, the Secretary of the District Social Welfare, has issued a notice dated 20-4-2016 to the petitioner, and directed the petitioner to appear before him on 30-4-2016. According to the petitioner, repeatedly, he has been requesting for a copy of the said report. He has repeatedly filed representations, namely dated 28-4-2016 before respondent No.5, dated 12-5-2016 before respondent No.4, and dated 13-10-2016, and dated 30-5-2017 before respondent No.4. But to no avail. Hence, this petition before this Court.
3. Smt. Nireekshana K., the learned counsel for the petitioner, has vehemently contended that although the petitioner’s father was a Muslim, namely Late Abdul Azeez, but his mother belonged to Dombara caste. Therefore, in an inter-religious marriages; it is the caste of the mother that should be taken and not the community to which the father belongs to.
Secondly, neither the petitioner, nor his other siblings, were brought up as a Muslim. In fact, they have been brought up in the tradition and culture of Dombara caste. Therefore, the petitioner’s caste should be considered as though he belongs to the Dombara caste, and not to the Muslim community.
Lastly, even the petitioner, and his other siblings, are married to members of the Dombara caste. Thus, the petitioner was justified in claiming that he belongs to Dombara caste (Scheduled Caste community), rather than belonging to Muslim community. Therefore, the report submitted by the Superintendent of Police deserves to be set aside.
4. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, and perused the said impugned report.
5. A bare perusal of the report clearly reveals that the Superintendent of Police has carried out a detailed investigation into the background of the petitioner’s family. He has not only recorded the statement of the petitioner, but has also recorded the statement of his other brothers and sisters. During the course of his investigation, he has discovered that initially the petitioner’s name was shown as Basha, son of Late Abdul Azeez, in his school records from 5th to 7th Standard in the Government Kannada Model Higher Primary School, Hiriyur. Thus, initially, petitioner’s name was shown as a Muslim in his school records. It is subsequently in the years 1978-79 and 1980-81, when the petitioner was studying in 8th to 10th Standard in the Government High School, his caste is shown as Dombara. However, when he was studying in first and second P.U.C., at the Government First Grade College, Hiriyur, again his caste was mentioned as Muslim and not as Dombara. Similarly, in first and second year of B.Com., during 1983-94 and 1984-85, while the petitioner was studying at Vani Sugar Government First Grade College, Hiriyur, his caste was shown as Muslim in the college records. Even when he was studying in final year B.Com., during 1990-91 at the Government Arts College, Chitradurga, again his caste was shown as Muslim, in the college records. Similarly, when he joined LL.B. at Saraswathi Law College, Chitradurga, in the year 1990-91, his caste was again shown as Muslim, and not as Dombara. However, on 31-7-1992, the petitioner managed to get a Caste Certificate from the Tahsildar declaring his caste as Dombara. Despite the fact that his academic records reveal the fact that belongs to the Muslim community, on the basis of Caste Certificate issued by the Tahsildar, even the District Caste Verification Committee, Chitradurga, declared that the petitioner belonged to Dombara, by order dated 7-6-1996. It is on the basis of this declaration that the petitioner sought an employment under the reserved category of Scheduled Caste; he was duly employed. The Superintendent of Police has also relied upon the Circular, dated 15-10-2008, issued by the Government of Karnataka, wherein it is clearly prescribed that in case of an inter-caste, or an inter-religious marriages, the caste would be of the father, and not of the mother.
6. The learned counsel for the petitioner has strenuously contended that the petitioner was not brought up in the traditions of the Muslim community, but was brought up in the traditions of a Dombara caste. But the fact still remains that the caste or the community, to which the petitioner would belong to, would be the caste or community of his father and not to the caste to which his mother belonged to. Moreover, even according to the Circular, dated 15-10-2008, issued by the State, a person is known by caste to which father belongs to, and not to the caste of the community to which mother belongs to. Even if the petitioner were brought up in the traditions of Dombara caste, even if the petitioner and his siblings were married in the Dombara caste, it would still not make him a member of the Dombara caste. The academic records of the petitioner, mentioned above, clearly prove that his father had shown him as belonging to the Muslim community. Therefore, the contentions being raised by the petitioner are clearly untenable and unacceptable.
7. Recently, in the case of CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR FCI AND OTHERS v. JAGDISH BALARAM BAHIRA & OTHERS reported in AIR 2017 SC 3271, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has clearly opined that those who seek and get an employment on the Caste Certificate, deprive those who are legally entitled to the benefit of reservation. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has also opined that such person should not get employment on the basis of fake Caste Certificate. Moreover, no matter how long such persons have served on their post, they cannot continue on the said post. In fact, service of the said persons should be terminated as expeditiously as possible. Therefore, this Court directs the respondents to take the necessary steps against the petitioner in accordance with the law.
8. For the reasons stated above, this Court does not find any illegality, or perversity in the report submitted by the Superintendent of Police.
For the reasons stated, this Court does not find any merit in the present writ petition. It is, hereby, dismissed.
Sd/- JUDGE kvk