Paragraph numbers below are the court’s original numbering, recovered from the source text.
4. All the State Governments shall constitute a Committee of three officers, namely, (I) an Additional or Joint Secretary or any officer higher in rank of the Director of the department concerned, (Ii) the Director, G Social Welfareffribal Welfare/Backward Class Welfare, as the the case may be, and (II) in the case of Scheduled Castes another officer who has intimate knowledge in the verification and issuance of the social status certificates. In the case of the Scheduled Tries, the Research Officer who has intimate knowledge in identifying the tribes, tribal, tribal communities, parts of or groups of tribes or tribal communities.
5. Each Directorate should constitute a vigilance cell consisting of Senior Deputy Superintendent of Police in over-all charge and such num- ber or Police Inspectors to investigate into the social status claims. The Inspector would go to the local place of residence and original place from which the candidate hails and usually resides er in case of migration to the town or city, the place from which he originally hailed from. The vigilance officer should personally verify and collect all the facts of the social status claimed by the candidate or the parent or guardian, as the case may be. He should also examine the school records, birth registration, if any. He should also examine the parent, guardian or the candidate in relation to their caste etc. or >uch other persons who have knowledge of the social C status of the candidate and then submit a report to the Directorate together with all particulars as envisaged in the proforma, in particular, of the Scheduled Tribes relating to their peculiar anthropological and ethnologi- cal traits, deity rituals, customs, mode of marriage, death ceremonies method of burial of dead bodies etc. by the castes or tribes or tribal D communities concerned etc.
6. The Director concerned, on receipt of the report from the vigilance officer if he found the claim for social status to be "not genuine" or 'doubtful' or spurious or falsely or wrongly claimed, the Director con- cerned should issue show-cause notice supplying a copy of the report of E the vigilance officer to the candidate by a registered post with acknow- ledgment due or through the head of the educational institution concerned in which the candidate is studying or employed. The notice should indicate that the representation or reply, if any would be made within two weeks from the date of the receipt of the notice and in no case on request not more than 30 days from the date of the receipt of the notice. In case, the candidate seeks for an opportunity of hearing and claims an inquiry to be made in that behalf, the Director on receipt of such representation/reply shall convene the committee and the Joint/Additional Secretary as Chair- person who shall give reasonable opportunity to the candidate/parent/guar- dian to adduce all evidence in support of their claim. A public notice by beat of drum or any other convenient made may be published in the village · or locality and if any person or association opposes such a claim, an opportunity to adduce evidence may be given to him/it. After giving such opportunity either in person or through counsel, the Committee may make such inquiry as it deems expedient and consider the claims vis-a-vis the H objections raised by the candidate or opponent and pass an appropriate ….. DIRECTOR OF TRIBAL WELFAREv. LAVETI GIRi (K. RAMASWAMY, J.I 441 order with brief reasons in support thereof.
7. Jn case the report is in favour of the candidate and found to be genuine and true, no further action need be taken except where the report or the particulars given are procured or found to be false or fraudulently obtained and in the latter event the same procedure as is envisaged in para 6 be followed.
8. Notice contemplated in para 6 should be issued to the parents/guardian also in case candidate is minor to appear before the Committee with all evidence in his or their support of the claim for the social status certificates.
9. The inquiry should be completed as expeditiously as possible preferably by day-to-day proceedings within such period not exceeding two months. If after inquiry, the Caste Scrutiny Committee finds the claim to c be false or spurious, they should pass an order cancelling the certificate issued and confiscate the same. It should communicate within one month D from the date of the conclusion of the proceedings the result of enquiry to the parent/guardian and the applicant.
10. In case of any delay in finalising the proceedings, and the meanwhile the last date for admission into an educational institution or appointment to an officer post, is getting expired, the candidate be ad- mitted by the Principal or such other authority competent in that behalf or appointed on the basis of the social status certificate already issued or an affidavit duly sworn by the parent/guardian/candidate before the com- petent officer of non-official and such admission or appointment should be only provisional, subject to the result of the inquiry by the Scrutiny Com- mittee.
11. The order passed by the Committee shall be final and conclusive only subject to the proceedings under Article 226 of the Constitution.
12. No suit or other proceedings before any other authority should lie. G
13. The High Court would dispose of these cases as expeditiously as possible within a period of three months. In case, as per its procedure, the writ petition/miscellaneous petition/matter is disposed of by a Single Judge, then no further appeal would lie against that order to the Division Bench but subject to special leave under Article 136. SUPREME COURT REPOR'!'S
14. In case, the certificate obtained or social status claimed is found to be false, the parent/guardian/the candidate should be prosecuted for making claim. If the prosecution ends in a conviction and sentence of the accused, it could be regarded as an offence involving moral turpitude, disqualification for elective posts or offices under the State or the Union B or elections to any local body, legislature or Parliament.
15. As soon as the finding is recorded by the Scrutiny Committee holding that the certificate obtained was false, on its cancellation and confiscation simultaneously, it should be communicated to be educational institution concerned or the appointing authority by registered post with C acknowledgment due with a .request to cancel the admission of the appoint- ment. The Principle etc. of the educational institution responsible for making the admission or the appointing authority, should cancel the ad- mission/appointment without any further notice to the candidate and debar the candidate from further study or continue in office in a post. While reiterating the above guidelines to be workable principles, it is high time that the Government of India would have the matter examined in greater detail and bring about a uniform legislation with necessary guidelines and rules prescribing penal consequences on persons who flout the Corstitution and corner the benefits reserved for the real tribals etc. E etc., so that the menace of fabricating the false records and to gain unconstitutional advantages by plain/spurious persons could be prevented. Lest they would defeat the Constitutional objective of rendering socio- economic justice envisaged under Article 46 in the Preamble of the Con- stitution under Articles 14, 15, 16, 38 and 39. By orders of the High Court the respondent had already completed his engineering course, though he play fraud on the Constitution depriving the real tribal of the benefit of the education as an engireer. He was minor at the relevant time. So nothing can be done except declaring that he is not tribal and that he is not entitled to an) employment or any other advantage G O!' the basis of his false status as Scheduled Tribe, namely, Kondakapu. His father did not appear before the Director and he is not before this Court to direct the Govt. to lay prosecution. Accordingly the app~al is allowed ..illl with costs quantified at Rs. 25,000 to defray the amount spent on the respondent. D.K.T. Appeal allowed.