CASE TITLE:
Rina Kumari Rana @ Reena Kumari Rana vs The State of Jharkhand
BENCH:
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH SHANKAR
PARTIES:
Plaintiff: Rina Kumari Rana @ Reena Kumari Rana
Respondent: The State of Jharkhand
SUBJECT:
- A petition to declare the petitioner's passing the Combined Graduate Trained Teacher Competitive exam was being considered by Justice Rajesh Shankar's bench.
- The High Court of Jharkhand dismissed a woman's petition seeking reservation on her husband's behalf, ruling that she could not receive the benefit of reservation in Jharkhand based only on the fact that her caste certificate for the S.T. category was issued by the Sub-Divisional Officer, Godda. This is because the law has established that a person who has migrated to another state is only eligible to receive the benefit of reservation in their state of origin.
OVERVIEW:
- The petitioner has filed this writ petition to declare that she passed the Combined Graduate Trained Teacher Competitive Examination, 2016 and is eligible to be appointed as a Teacher (Hindi). She was called for certificate verification after her performance in the "Main" examination was announced, but her candidacy under the Scheduled Tribe (S.T.) category was denied because she had submitted the S.T. caste certificate based on her husband's.
- An additional prayer has been made to have the remarks made against the petitioner's name in notice No. 3519, dated May 28, 2019 (Annexure-7 to the writ petition), which mention that she did not turn in the caste certificate, removed and as a result, her eligibility would be limited to the unreserved category vacancy.
- The petitioner has also prayed for the respondent No. 2 to be instructed to send her name to respondent Nos. 4 through 6 so that she can be counseled as a successful candidate in the S.T category.
ARGUMENTS ADVANCED BY THE PARTIES
- In her appearance on behalf of the petitioner, learned counsel argued that the petitioner is from the state of Bihar, that she is a member of the "Lohara" caste, and that she got married to a member of the same caste who lives in the state of Jharkhand. After getting married, the petitioner applied to the competent authority of the state of Jharkhand for the issuance of a caste certificate of Scheduled Tribe (S.T.) and a local resident certificate, providing details about her husband. In response, the Sub-Divisional Officer, Godda issued her a residential certificate and a caste certificate.
- In the case of Marri Chandra Shekhar Rao Vs. Dean, Seth G.S. Medical College & Others, the learned counsel representing the respondent argued that the issue raised in the current writ petition is no longer res integra. In that case, the court held that to treat the decision made under Articles 341 and 342 of the Constitution as valid nationwide would be to negate the very purpose, scheme, and language of Article 341 read with Article 15(4) of the Constitution.
JUDGEMENT ANALYSIS:
- The court cited the ruling in Ranjana Kumari Vs. State of Uttarakhand & ors., wherein it was decided that a migrant cannot be considered a member of the "Scheduled Caste" of the migrant State simply because the same caste is recognized as such in the migrant State. The court also cited the ruling in Kanchan Kumari & Anr. Vs. State of Jharkhand & Ors., wherein it was decided that even though a person's caste is receiving reservation benefits, the issue is no longer res integra, meaning that a person who has moved to another State should only receive reservation benefits in his or her parent State, or the State of Origin, and not in the migrant State.
- The court held that in this particular case, it is acknowledged that the petitioner is originally from the State of Bihar and that she moved to the State of Jharkhand after getting married. The petitioner obtained a caste certificate from the office of the Sub-Divisional Officer, Godda by providing her husband's address as proof of her place of residence. Therefore, based solely on the fact that the petitioner has a caste certificate for the S.T. category issued by the Sub-Divisional Officer, Godda, she is not eligible to receive the benefit of reservation in the State of Jharkhand due to the established legal position that a person who has moved to another State is only eligible to receive the benefit of reservation in the State of Origin.
- The Court however dismissed the petition.
CONCLUSION:
- According to the High Court, the petitioner cannot receive the benefit of reservation in Jharkhand merely because her caste certificate for the S.T. category was issued by the Sub-Divisional Officer in Godda. This is because it is established law that an individual who has immigrated to another state can only receive the benefit of reservation in their state of origin.
