New Delhi, Apr 4 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the appeal of Amravati MP Navneet Kaur Rana, who won the 2019 Lok Sabha election from a constituency reserved for Scheduled Castes, and set aside the Bombay High Court's judgment which had not accepted her Caste certificate as valid.
A Bench comprising Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Sanjay Karol said that the Scrutiny Committee had validated Rana's caste certificate after due application of mind and on considering relevant documents. Further, all parties were heard and the principles of natural justice complied with. The High Court's interference with the Committee's findings was not merited.
The Apex Court reversed the Bombay High Court judgment which set aside her Scheduled Caste certificate and restored the validation order passed by the Scrutiny Committee.
The case pertains to Navneet Kaur Rana who had challenged a Bombay High Court judgment passed in 2021 in which it had ruled that the Amravati MP had fraudulently obtained a 'Mochi' caste certificate, even though records indicated that she belonged to the caste 'Sikh-Chamar'.
The High Court had ruled that the terms 'Chamar' and 'Sikh Chamar' are not synonymous.
It had also said that the term 'Sikh Chamar' is also not synonymous with the term 'Mochi' prescribed under entry 11 to Schedule II to the Constitution of India (Scheduled Caste), Order 1950. This Judgement of the Bombay High Court was turned down by the Supreme Court.
UNI SNG CS