Caste, income certificates are different, distinct: Karnataka HC

KEY STORY

• The Karnataka High Court has said that a caste certificate and an income certificate (creamy layer certificate) issued under the Karnataka Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (Reservation of Appointments, Etc.) Act, are two different and distinct certificates and both cannot be treated alike.

• The Dharwad bench of the high court observed this in a recent judgment while allowing the petition filed by the selection authority and the secretary, Karnataka High School Examination Board.

• A division bench comprising Justice S G Pandit and Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde said that in respect of caste certificate, if a person is Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, he is so by birth and not by any subsequent event or development.

• “A caste certificate issued by the competent authority is only an affirmation of fact which is in existence, i.e., caste status. But, insofar as the income certificate issued by the competent authority is concerned, it depends on the income of the parents of a candidate concerned as on the date of issuing such certificate. There is a purpose behind prescribing the period of validity of income certificate to five years. The income may increase or decrease, depending on his avocation/profession or employment. Government servants/ employees or salaried class would have a steady increase in their income from year to year. For professionals, businessmen and such persons in other avocation, income may increase or decrease,” the bench said.

• In the case on hand, the petitioner had challenged the March 9, 2020 order passed by the Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal, Belagavi.

CONCLUSION

• The tribunal had directed the petitioner to consider appointing a certain teacher to the post of secondary school assistant teacher (CBZ-Kannada) under GM/Rural in pursuant to additional list dated September 12, 2013, with all the benefits from the date on which candidates appointed, except the salary for the period with notional fixation.

• In the instant case, the creamy layer certificate produced by the teacher is of October 31, 2006, more than five years prior to the last date for submission of application, May 10, 2012.

• The court noted that the teacher had produced another creamy layer certificate of 2013, close to one and half years after the last date for submission of application, which cannot be taken note of for selection, since it is not within the last date prescribed under the notification inviting application, the bench said.