G. Manjunatha, former MLA for Mulbagal constituency (Scheduled Caste), had “stolen constituency” from a person genuinely belonging to the category by contesting elections in 2013 based on a false caste certificate, the High Court of Karnataka has said.
Observing that his conduct of contesting the election to the State legislature on a false caste certificate “fringes on the borders of fraud on the Constitution,” the court left it to the State authorities to take action as per law against him.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order recently while dismissing a petition filed by Mr. Manjunatha.
The former MLA had questioned the legality of the October 27, 2021, report of the District Caste Verification Committee (DCVC), which had said that he belongs to Byragi caste, which is a caste under the Other Backward Classes list, and he does not belong to Budaga Jangama caste (SC) as was claimed by him.
The High Court said the report of the DCVC “does not warrant any interference”.
“It is a clear case that the petitioner contested the election on a caste certificate, which was on the face of it false, and became a lawmaker even, by stealing away a constituency that was meant for a person genuinely belonging to a Scheduled Caste. It is this act that fringes on the borders of fraud on the Constitution,” the High Court observed.
Background
Mr. Manjunatha’s election as an Independent candidate from the Mulbagal Assembly constituency was set aside by the High Court in April 2018 by holding that he had failed to establish that he belongs to the Budaga Jangama caste.
On his appeal, the apex court had asked the DCVC to conduct an inquiry and submit a report. When the DCVC submitted the report dated October 27, 2021, the apex court asked him to challenge it before the High Court as the findings of the report were against him.
Claim after 30 years
Mr. Manjunatha made a claim, for the first time, that he belonged to the Budaga Jangama caste in 2008, when he was 30. Both the tahsildar and the Deputy Commissioner had rejected his claim based on the outcome of the inquiry and his school records.
He had submitted another application in 2011-12 and claimed to have secured a caste certificate from the tahsildar. However, to an RTI query, the tahsildar said the computer-generated caste certificate was secured by misusing the official machinery.
The DCVC’s recent verification found that none of his relatives have Budaga Jangama certificate. The DCVC also refused to accept his claim that there was a reference in the pre-independence Kolar Gazetteer that Budaga Jangama was also known by names such as ‘malasanyasi’, ‘bairagi’, etc., in different part.
