Child of forward class man cannot claim ST status

The Supreme Court has ruled that children born to a tribal woman and a non-tribal forward class man cannot claim the status of Schedule Tribe and seek employment in the government under the reserved category.

A division bench comprising Justice H K Sema and Justice A R Lakshmanan said the 'offshoots of the wedlock of a tribal woman and a non-tribal husband cannot claim Schedule Tribe status as they were brought up in the atmosphere of forward class and were not subjected to any disabilities'.

'A person not belonging to the Schedule Caste or Schedule Tribes, claiming himself to be a member of such caste by procuring a bogus caste certificate, is a fraud on the Constitution of India,' the court observed.

It said the impact of procuring bogus caste certificate and obtaining appointment/admission from the reserved quota will have far-reaching

consequences as meritorious reserved category candidates may be deprived of posts meant for them.

Terming it as a violation of the mandate of Articles 14 (right to equality) and 21 (right to life and personal liberty) of the Constitution, the bench said such certificates should not be issued in a routine manner without proper verification of the applicant's claim.

The court dismissed an appeal filed by one Anjan Kumar of Gaya, Bihar, who was born to a forward class (Kayastha) man and a woman from Oraon tribe in Madhya Pradesh and denied final posting as an Indian Information Service Grade-A officer despite having cleared the 1993 Civil Services Examination held by the UPSC in the Schedule Tribe category.