The Uttarakhand High Court has stepped in to provide interim protection to a woman village head (gram pradhan) whose election victory is under threat following the cancellation of her caste certificate. The court has directed her to seek a remedy from the state-level committee while allowing her to continue in her position for now.
Court's Interim Order and Key Directions
In a significant ruling, a bench of Justice Manoj Tiwari disposed of a petition filed by Baljeet Kaur on Tuesday. The court granted her interim protection, maintaining the status quo on her position as gram pradhan until she exhausts the available legal remedy. Crucially, the High Court gave Kaur the liberty to approach the state-level caste scrutiny committee within one week and directed that panel to decide the matter on its merits.
The Core of the Dispute: Caste Certificate Cancellation
The controversy stems from the cancellation of Baljeet Kaur's caste certificate on January 1 this year by the district-level caste scrutiny committee. Kaur, a Sikh Jat and resident of Jaspur block in Udham Singh Nagar district, had contested the gram pradhan election in July last year. She ran for and won a seat that was reserved for Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates.
Challenging the district committee's order in the High Court, Kaur contended that she belongs to the Jat community by birth and was issued a caste certificate accordingly. She argued that her caste status did not change after her marriage.
Opposition's Arguments and Legal Precedent
During the hearing, the counsel representing another contestant for the post, Jyoti Kumari, presented counter-arguments. He submitted that the Sikh Jat community is not recognized as OBC in Uttarakhand. He further stated that Kaur was born and brought up in Uttar Pradesh and became a resident of Uttarakhand only after her marriage here in 2013.
The counsel cited the Supreme Court's 2012 judgment in the Ranjana Kumari vs State of Uttarakhand & Others case to support the district committee's decision. The government counsel also pointed out that the district committee's order was appealable before the state caste committee and that the petitioner should have filed an appeal there instead of directly approaching the High Court.
The Uttarakhand High Court's order provides a temporary reprieve to the elected representative while underscoring the proper channel for resolving such disputes. The final decision now rests with the state-level caste scrutiny committee, which has been instructed to examine the case on merit.
