LexUNION OF INDIA AND ORS. versus DUDH NATH PRASAD.
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UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. A v. DUDH NATH PRASAD. JANUARY 4, 2000 [S. SAGHIR AHMAD AND S.P. KURDUKAR, JJ.] B Se1Vice Law : All India Se1Vices Act, 1951-Section Y-Rese1Vation of Schedule Caste or Schedule Tribe-Appointment of candidate against rese1Ved vacancy-Re- C quirement of para 5 of the instructions--lndian Administrative Se1Vices Ex- amination 1996-Candidate to be ordinarily resident in the state which has notified his caste as a schedule caste-Candidate for JAS examination born and educated in Biha,......Parents of candidate residing in West Bengal for last thirty years prior to examination-President in exercise of his powers under Article 341(1) read with Art. 366(24) declared "Nuniya Caste" as a Schedule D Caste-Held, the candidate belongs to "Nuniya Caste" of West Bengal and is rightly appointed against rese1Ved vacancy-Constitution of India, 1950--Ar- ticles 341(1) and 336(24)--Representation of People Act, 1950--Section 20. Words and Phrases--'Reside', 'Residence' and 'Ordinarily E Residing'-Meaning of. Respondent is a member of the Indian Administrative and Allied Services. He was appointed in 1968 against a reserved vacancy as he was treated to belong to "Nuniya community" which was declared to be a Scheduled Caste community in the State of West Bengal. The respondent F was born and educated in State of Bihar. His parents however, were residing in State of West Bengal for nearly 30 years prior to the IAS examination. The Comptroller & Auditor General challenged the Schedule Caste Certificate of the respondent. Respondent contended before Central Ad- G ministrative Tribu,nal that he belonged to "Nuniya caste" and the Caste Certificate produced by him at the time of examination was duly checked and verified by the Union Public Service Commission and had been properly issued by the Sub-Divisional Officer, Howrah, as his parents had been residing in that State for over 30 years prior to the date of examina- H 1 2 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2000] 1 S.C.R. A tion. The Judicial member agreed with the respondent but the Administra- tive member gave a dissenting judgment. Aggrieved by the order, the respondent filed a claim petition. The petition was allowed holding that the respondent did belong to the "Nuniya" caste, which was only notified as a Schedule Caste in the State of West Bengal. The ordinary place of B residence of the parents of the respondent was Howrah from where the Caste Certificate was produced by the respondent, whic~ was a proper and valid certificate. Hence this appeal. Dismissing the appeal, this Court c HELD : 1.1. Applying the requirements set out in Paragraph 5 of the "Instructions" in respect of Civil Service Examination, to the instant case, it will be found that since the parents of the respondent were living in District Howrah for more than 30 years before the Examination in question was held, the District Officer or the Sub-Divisional Officer could legally issue the Caste Certificate and also certify that his parents were D "ordinarily residing" in District Howrah. In such a situation, the respon- dent had no option but to obtain the Certificate from the Sub-Divisional Officer, Howrah, as he could not have deviated from the "Instructions" already issued by the UPSC. [8-D-E; F] E 1.2. In determining whether a person was ordinarily residing in a F particular constituency, the factors mentioned in sub-section 20-(l)(lA) alone would not be determinative of the status. It would have to be . ' determined on a consideration of all other relevant factors. This is clear from Section 2~(7) of the Act. [11-B-C] 1.3. The parents of the respondent lived at one time in a village in District Siwan in the State of Bihar and that owned some property there. They had shifted to the State of West Bengal long ago and had been living there since then. Therefore, for all intents and purposes, they shall be treated to be "ordinarily residing" in the State of West Bengal. For the State G of West Bengal, the President, in exercise of his powers under Article 341(1) read with Article 366(24) had already declared ''Nuniya" Caste a Scheduled Caste and, therefore, the respondent was rightly treated to be a Scheduled Caste candidate and was rightly appointed against a reserved vacancy, after being declared successful at the examination held by the H UPSC for the Indian Administrative & Allied Services in 1966. [15-E-G] U.O.l. v. DUDH NATH PRASAD
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