The Maharashtra government on Monday told the Bombay High Court that it had invalidated 33,253 wrong tribal caste certificates from 1985 till date. The government admitted that these wrong-doers did not belong to the Scheduled Tribes category, and tried to grab the benefits meant for the category.
The Joint Commissioner and vice-chairperson of Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee, Pune, gave this information on affidavit to the court. The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by Adivasi Samaj Kruti Samiti seeking action against officials who issue extra-terrestrial caste certificates. The petition claims that wrongful certificates are being issued as persons belonging to one district seek certificates from other district committees.
The petition urges that the pendency of work in every district committee should be tackled effectively to ensure that a person belonging to a particular district seeks a tribal caste certificate from the same district. The PIL urges that the government should place on record steps taken for avoiding extra-terrestrial issuance of caste certificates.
While the government said it had invalidated large number of such tribal caste certificates, it did not clarify if it had initiated any criminal action against the wrong-doers who got such benefit from the State.
The court directed the government to file a fresh affidavit in the matter by August 13, when the petition will be heard again.
