Hoornaz Banu v. President Karnataka State Scheduled Caste & Schedule Tribe Commission
2011-10-14
K.BHAKTHAVATSALA
body2011
DigiLaw.ai
Judgment :- 1. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that on the basis of the complaint lodged by Respondent No.2 under Section 8 of the Karnataka State Commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act, 2002 (for short ‘’the Act’), the Respondent No.1/State Commission erred in registering a case, under Section 3(1)(iv), (viii) and (ix) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (for short ‘the SC/ST Act’), in No,70/2010, against the present petitioners and passing an order of Status-quo to respect of the property. He submits that the property bearing No.148, situated at Sonnahalli. Further Extension, Bangalore was allotted originally in favour of one D.P. Malakondaiah. The allottee sold the property to Smt.Chinnamma, who gifted the property in favour of her son C. Manjunath and he sold the property to the Petitioner No.1 under a registered Sale Deed dated 01.06.2008. He further submits that the Respondent No.1/State Commission has no jurisdiction to entertain the petition and initiate any action against the petitioner for the alleged contravention of the provisions of Section 3 of the SC/ST Act, and prays for quashing the proceedings in Case No.70/2010 and the interim order of status-quo and extension of interim order. 2. There is no representation for Respondents 1 to 3. 3. It is the case of the petitioner No.1 that she purchased the site bearing No.148 under a registered Sale Deed dated 06.11.2008, from the previous owner and she is in possession and enjoyment of the same. Since Respondent No.2 interfered with the petitioners’ peaceful possession and enjoyment of the house property, the petitioner No.1 filed a suit in O.S.No.7721/2009 on the file of the City Civil Judge at Bangalore City and on 07.12.2009, the Civil Court has granted an ad-interim exparte T.I in favour of the petitioner No.1. The petitioners have disputed the claim of the Respondent No.2 that he is the son of late D.P. Malakondaiah, since the property has been purchased from the previous owner, for a valuable consideration, question of initiating proceedings against the petitioner for the alleged violation of the provisions of the SC/ST Act, does not arise. 4.
The petitioners have disputed the claim of the Respondent No.2 that he is the son of late D.P. Malakondaiah, since the property has been purchased from the previous owner, for a valuable consideration, question of initiating proceedings against the petitioner for the alleged violation of the provisions of the SC/ST Act, does not arise. 4. Function of the State Commission is as per Section 8 of the Act, which reads as follows: (i) to investigate and examine the working of various safeguards provided in the constitution of India or under any other law for the time being in force or under any order of the Government for the welfare and protection of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes of Karnataka and; (ii) to inquire into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and safeguard of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes of Karnataka and to take up such matter with the appropriate authorities; (iii) to participate and advise on the planning process of socio economic development of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and to evaluate the progress of their development in the State; (iv) to make recommendations as to the measures that should be taken by the State for the effective implementation of safeguards and other measures for the protection, welfare and socio economic development of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and to make report to the State Government annually and at such other time as the Commission may deems fit; (v) to discharge such other functions in relation to the protection, welfare, development and advancement of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes as may be prescribed; Provided that if any matter specified in this section is dealt with by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes established under Article 338 of the Constitution of India the State Commission for Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes shall cease to have jurisdiction on such matter. Thus function of the State Commission is to advise / recommended to the state Government to relation to protection, welfare, development and advancement of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Thus function of the State Commission is to advise / recommended to the state Government to relation to protection, welfare, development and advancement of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Further, under Section 8, the State Commission is vested with the powers of civil court for the purpose of summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person; requiring the discovery and production of any document; receiving evidence on affidavits, requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office; issuing Commissions for the examination of witnesses and documents and any other matter which may be prescribed. Merely because power of a Civil Court is conferred upon the State Commissioner while investigating any matter under Section 8, it cannot transgress the powers of the Special Court under the SC/ST Act. The State Commission has no authority to grant any interim order and the power exercised by the State Commission is excess of its jurisdiction and the proceedings initiated by the State Commission against the petitioner in Case No.70/2010 on the file of State Commission and the interim order of status-quo (at Annexures-K and L) granted are liable to be quashed. 5. In the result, the petition is allowed and the proceedings initiated by the Respondent No.1 in Case No.70/2010 as well as the interim order of status-quo and extension of interim order of status-quo as per Annexure ‘K and ‘L’ are quashed.