SC sets aside Bombay HC order cancelling caste certificate of Maha MP Navneet Kaur Rana

New Delhi, April 4 (IANS) In a big relief to Maharashtra's Amravati MP Navneet Kaur Rana ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Supreme Court on Thursday set aside an order of the Bombay High Court which had cancelled her Scheduled Caste certificate.

“In our considered view, the order of the scrutiny committee did not merit any interference by the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution,” said a bench headed by Justice J.K. Maheshwari.

The scrutiny committee heard all the parties in detail complying with the principle of natural justice, added the Bench, also comprising Justice Sanjay Karol.

Earlier in June 2021, the Supreme Court had stayed the operation of the Bombay High Court which cancelled her caste certificate saying it was obtained by using fabricated documents. The top court had remarked that the High Court ought to have sent the matter back to the committee for fresh consideration.

In her special leave petition, Rana pleaded that the terms Mochi and Chamar are synonymous, and the scrutiny committee had decided her caste status based on original records produced before it.

The High Court had reversed the scrutiny committee's decision on the complainants' claim that the vigilance committee had found that documents were fabricated. In its order, the HC had also imposed a cost of Rs 2 lakh, which Rana was to deposit with the Maharashtra Legal Services Authority within two weeks.

Rana, a first-time Member of Parliament (MP), had successfully contested the Amravati Lok Sabha seat in 2019, reserved for Scheduled Castes. She has been fielded by the BJP in Amravati in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.