The Supreme Court ruled that pre-Independence documents carry greater probative value in caste certificate claims, directing authorities to recognize authentic historical records over post-Independence evidence.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has directed the Scheduled Tribe Certificate Scrutiny Committee to issue a Caste Validity Certificate to medical aspirant Yogesh Madhav Makalwad, while reaffirming that pre-Independence documents carry greater probative value when determining caste claims.
The three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, and Justice K. Vinod Chandran overturned the Bombay High Court’s decision upholding the cancellation of Makalwad’s caste certificate for the Koli Mahadev Scheduled Tribe.
Background of the Case
In 1943, the appellant’s grandfather, Jalba Malba Makalwad, was admitted to a primary school where his caste was recorded as Koli Mahadev. Similar caste entries appeared in the school records of the appellant’s father and uncle in the 1970s.
In 2005, the appellant’s school records also reflected the same caste. In 2019, after qualifying for medical admission through NEET on the strength of his caste certificate, Makalwad sought expedited scrutiny. However, the Scrutiny Committee invalidated the caste certificates of both him and his father, alleging unreliability of records and failure in the “affinity test.”
The Bombay High Court dismissed his challenge, leading to this appeal before the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court’s Reasoning
The Bench placed strong reliance on its earlier ruling in Anand v. Committee for Scrutiny & Verification of Tribe Claims (2012), which held that,
- Pre-Independence documents should be given greater weight as they are less likely to be fabricated and provide stronger proof of caste status.
- The affinity test, which assesses tribal customs, traditions, and traits, cannot be the sole criterion for rejecting a claim, especially in modern times when migration and cultural assimilation have altered traditional practices.
Examining the 1943 school record, the Court found,
- The caste entry “Koli Mahadev” was in the same ink and handwriting, leaving no scope for interpolation.
- Subsequent school records of the appellant’s father and uncle corroborated the caste status.
The Court rejected the High Court’s observation that the claim lacked support from validated documents, noting that the appellant’s family had applied for validation for the first time.
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The Supreme Court, while deciding the case of Yogesh Madhav Makalwad, reiterated that pre-Independence records hold a higher probative value than post-Independence documents in determining caste claims.
It clarified that the affinity test is not a litmus test and should only be used to support documentary evidence, not as a substitute for it. The Court further observed that modernisation and the integration of tribal communities into mainstream society mean that an applicant’s inability to recall traditional customs cannot automatically disqualify their claim.
Accordingly, the Court set aside the High Court’s judgment and the Scrutiny Committee’s invalidation, declared that Yogesh Madhav Makalwad belongs to the Koli Mahadev Tribe, and directed the Committee to issue him a Caste Validity Certificate within six weeks.
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Appearance:
Appellant: Senior Advocate Uday Bhaskar Dubey, AOR Kailas More, Advocates Nirmala D. Borade, Nikita Singh, Meena Sehrawat, Akash Yadav, Kaustubh Dube
Respondent: Advocates Varad Kilor, Siddharth Dharmadhikari, AOR Aaditya Aniruddha Pande, Advocate Shrirang B. Varma
Case Title:
Yogesh Madhav Makalwad v. The State of Maharashtra
SLP (C) No. 27410 of 2024
READ JUDGMENT HERE
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