Poll tribunal does not have jurisdiction to declare a caste certificate forged: Allahabad HC

Prayagraj, Jul 7 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has said that an election tribunal does not have the jurisdiction to verify or declare a caste certificate forged. Hence, the genuineness of a caste certificate cannot be challenged or scrutinized in an election petition, Justice Neeraj Tiwari observed while dismissing a plea by Radha Charan, who challenged the victory of Vinay Prakash Gond from the Ram Kola legislative assembly (reserved for Scheduled Caste) constituency in Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh. According to the petitioner, Gond belonged to the OBC and he had fraudulently obtained a Scheduled Caste certificate to file his nomination papers from the constituency reserved for SC candidates. The court while relying on the judgement in the Kumari Madhuri Patil vs Addl Commissioner, 1994, emphasised that specialised scrutiny committees are the exclusive expert forums armed with fact-finding authority to determine social status claims. It noted that the state government had constituted three distinct committees in a hierarchy to examine the validity of caste certificates and that these panels possess exclusive authority to validate or invalidate them. The court, in its judgement dated July 6, observed, "Therefore, in the light of facts mentioned herein above as well as judgements relied upon, now it is crystal clear that caste certificate issued by the competent authority neither can be challenged nor can be scrutinized by the election tribunal in election petition." PTI COR RAJ ZMN