Justice Naveen Rao of the A.P. High Court on Tuesday upheld the decision of the Adilabad district Collector in declaring that Suman Rathod, Telugu Desam MLA representing Khanapur (ST) constituency, is not a tribal.
The judge was dismissing a writ petition filed by the MLA challenging the action of the government in cancelling her social status certificate as a Scheduled Tribe.
There was controversy about her status as she hails from Maharashtra and could not be treated as a Scheduled Tribe here.
The Collector conducted the statutory inquiry and cancelled her caste certificate on the ground that she was not entitled to it. The government proceeded to cancel the certificate in 2009. Justice Naveen Rao recalled that the court had earlier ruled in an election petition that she was not entitled to the said certificate.
