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Allahabad High Court · body

2015 DIGILAW 2330 (ALL)

Pradeep Singh Yadav v. State of U. P.

2015-08-11

PANKAJ MITHAL

body2015
JUDGMENT Pankaj Mithal, J. 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Standing Counsel for the respondents. The affidavits exchanged between the parties have also been perused. 2. The petitioner is an O.B.C. candidate and after having passed High School applied for Dashamottar Scholarship under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Post Metric Scholarship Scheme-2012 for higher education with the Nehru Gram Bharati University, Kotwa Jamunipur, Dubawal, Allahabad. 3. The petitioner submitted his application for the scholarship under the scheme online on 24.07.2014 clearly mentioning about the caste certificate issued to him by the office of the Tehsildar Handiya, District Allahabad giving its number as 45609312976 dated 15.07.2009. The petitioner from website of the Social Welfare Department Uttar Pradesh learned that his application was forwarded by the college on 04.11.2014 and to the D.I.O.S. on 27.01.2015 but the District Scholarship Committee has rejected the same. 4. In these circumstances petitioner made an application on 08.05.2015 to the Zila Pichra Varg Kalyan Adhikari inquiring about the status of his application and the reason why it has been rejected. 5. In response to the same the Zila Pichra Varg Kalyan Adhikari, Allahabad vide letter dated 28.05.2015 informed the petitioner that as his caste certificate was doubtful. It was initially kept in abeyance in the list doubtful certificate, later on verification it was found that the caste certificate submitted by the petitioner is not verifiable from the database of the Rajaswa Parishad Uttar Pradesh and as such was rejected. 6. The petitioner filed the writ petition for the grant of scholarship under the scheme. It was amended so as to challenge the communication dated 28.05.2015 also. 7. The submission of learned counsel for the petitioner is that his candidature for the scholarship is not liable to be rejected on the ground that the caste certificate as submitted by him is not verifiable from the database of the Board of Revenue. The caste certificate of the petitioner was issued by the Tehsildar Handia but no inquiry from the said office was made regarding its genuineness. His candidature was not liable to be rejected without any notice or opportunity of hearing to him. 8. The caste certificate of the petitioner was issued by the Tehsildar Handia but no inquiry from the said office was made regarding its genuineness. His candidature was not liable to be rejected without any notice or opportunity of hearing to him. 8. Learned Standing Counsel on the other hand submits that all caste certificates issued by any Tehsil are verifiable from the official website bor.up.nic.in and since the particulars of the caste certificates as submitted by the petitioner were not verifiable from the said website his candidature for scholarship was rightly rejected. 9. It appears that a provision has been made by the government to upload all caste certificates issued by the Tehsildar on the official website to make the job of verification easy and in case the particulars of any caste certificate are not verifiable from the official website the presumption is that it is not genuine. The aforesaid presumption is rebuttal in nature and the party concern is entitle to show that the caste certificate in fact is genuine and that there is some mistake on part of the authorities concern in uploading the caste certificate on the official website. 10. The possibility of certain certificates being left out from uploading on the website due to some inadvertence of the official incharge cannot be ruled out. It is therefore, necessary not only to verify about the certificate from the office from where the certificate was issued to be doubly sure about its genuineness. 11. The respondents have not taken care to verify from the office of the Tehsildar concerned as to whether the said certificate with the particulars as mentioned was issued to the petitioner and whether it was uploaded on the official website or not. Atleast if the certificate was not verifiable from the website, an opportunity ought to have been given to the petitioner to prove the genuineness of the said certificate. Had such an opportunity be given the petitioner could have established that the certificate submitted by him was a genuine certificate and that there is mistake on part of the office of the Tehsilar or the official entrusted with the job of uploading the certificate on the official website on account of which the same was left out. The respondents however failed to give any opportunity to the petitioner in this regard. 12. The respondents however failed to give any opportunity to the petitioner in this regard. 12. In these circumstances, the respondents are not justified in out-rightly rejecting the candidature of the petitioner for the grant of scholarship under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Post Metric Scholarship Scheme-2012. 13. Accordingly, respondents are directed to reconsider the matter afresh and verify the caste certificate issued to the petitioner from the office of the Tehsilar concerned may proceed to pass fresh order in accordance with law. 14. The writ petition is disposed of accordingly.