Dhan Bahadur Pradhan v. The Union of India and 6 Ors

ORDER Date : 08/11/2023

Heard Mr. R. P. Sarmah, learned senior counsel assisted by Ms. S. P. Chetry, learned counsel appears for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. J. K. Goswami, learned Government Advocate and Mr. K. Gogoi, learned CGC appears for the respondents.

¶2The grievance of the petitioner is that he had applied and participated in the selection for appointment in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), NIA and SSF and Rifleman GD in Assam Rifles (AR) examination, 2018. The petitioner belongs to Newar community which is categorized as OBC by the State.

¶3The grievance of the petitioner is that although he was selected and Page No.# 3/4 appointment in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), his appointment was subsequently cancelled on the ground that his caste (OBC) is not listed in the Central list of the Assam State by which he has been granted relaxation for the recruitment. The matter was referred to the Director General, CRPF, New Delhi for clarification and it has been informed that as his caste is not notified in the Central List of Assam State he was ineligible to be appointed as 'OBC' in Armed Forces. Accordingly, his appointment order which was issued by the CRPF has been recalled and cancelled. Being aggrieved the present writ petition has been filed.

¶4When the matter was listed earlier, the respective counsels for the respondent were permitted to obtain instructions. Mr. K. Gogoi, learned CGC representing the CRPF has produced before this Court the relevant documents to show that several other candidates who belong to the same category of OBC belonging to the 'Newar community' are already serving pursuant to the same selection under the CRPF. A list of these candidates has been placed before the Court which was furnished by the CRPF by their communication dated 23rd September, 2023.

¶5From the said list it is seen that as many as 4 (four) candidates, who belong to the 'Newar Community' have been selected and are presently working. These candidates selected and appointed are all residents of two different districts in the State of Assam, namely, Sonitpur and Biswanath Chariali. The present petitioner is a resident of Biswanath Chariali.

¶6It is not the stand of the respondent CRPF authorities that the certificate presented by the petitioner certifying that he belongs to the 'Newar community' is not genuine. The only ground on which the appointment of the petitioner was Page No.# 4/4 cancelled is that the 'Newar community' is not recognized in the Central List of the State of Assam. The list of OBC communities published by the Government shows 'Newar Community' as OBC in the State of Assam. However, the other candidates were shown to be appointed on the basis of the caste certificates issued by the concerned Deputy Commissioner showing them to be the members of the 'Newar community' recognized as OBC by the Government of Assam. If that be so, there is no reason why the petitioner's case ought not to be considered in the same light by the respondent authorities.

¶7Considering the fact that there is no dispute with regard to the genuineness of the certificate produced by the petitioner, the respondent authorities are directed to similarly place the petitioner as had been done to the other candidates belonging to the 'Newar Community' as is reflected from the Communication dated 23.09.2023.

¶8In that view of the matter, the writ petition stands allowed with a direction to the respondent authorities to consider the case of the petitioner and re-issue the appointment order to the petitioner for being appointed in CRPF as Constable (GD). His appointment will be considered to be effective from the date the appointment order dated 13.03.2021 was issued.

¶9With the above direction, writ petition stands allowed and disposed of.

¶10The Communication furnished by the learned CGC be retained in the case record.

¶11Impugned order dated 02.09.2021 issued by the respondent authorities is set aside. JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010149432021 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/4846/2021o DHANoBAHADURoPRADHANo S/O.oRUKMANoPRADHAN,oVILL.oJOGIBARI,oP.O.oTERONBARI,oP.O.oGOHPUR, DIST.oBISWANATH,oASSAM,oPIN-784171. VERSUSo THEoUNIONoOFoINDIAoANDo6oORSo REP.oBYoTHEoSECRETARY,oMINISTRYoOFoHOMEoAFFAIRS,oGOVT.oOFoINDIA,o NORTHoBLOCK,oNEWoDELHI-110001. 2:THEoDIRECTORoGENERAL oCENTRALoRESERVEoPOLICEoFORCE oBLOCKoNO.1 oCGOoCOMPLEX oLODHIoROAD oNEWoDELHI-110001. 3:THEoINSPECTORoGENEREAL oNEoSECTOR oCRPF oSTONYoHEAVEN oBISHOPoCOTTONoROAD oSHILLONG-793001. 4:THEoDEPUTYoINSPECTORoGENERAL oCRPFoGROUPoCENTRE oP.O.oAMERIGOG oKHANAPARA oASSAM Page No.# 2/4 PIN-781023. 5:THE COMMANDANT GROUP CENTRE CRPF KHATKHATI KARBIN ANGLONG PIN-782480. 6:THE STATE OF ASSAM REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM WPT AND BC DEPARTMENT GUWAHATI- 781006 7:THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER BISWANATH DISTRICT OF ASSAM. PIN- 78561 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. R P SARMAH Advocate for the Respondent : ASSTT.S.G.I. BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SOUMITRA SAIKIA