LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, April 6: BJP legislator Samri Lal today knocked the Jharkhand High Court challenging the order of the caste scrutiny committee by which his caste certificate issued on October 31, 2009 has been cancelled with an observation that Lal’s father, Mishri Lal Balmiki, migrated to Jharkhand (part of undivided Bihar) from Rajasthan for livelihood and he does not deserve reservation facility in the state.
The petitioner contended that in the year 1956 in the unified Bihar the caste to which he belongs was included in the list of SC while on April 1, the State Scrutiny Committee without any witnesses and solid evidence rejected his caste certificate. Along with this, he has also contended in his petition that the scrutiny committee cannot examine the caste certificate of a person whose caste certificate has been done on the basis of the inquiry report.
A probe committee headed by the state welfare secretary conducted a probe on the basis of an allegation leveled by Suresh Baitha saying that the issuance of caste certificate is a violation of the union home ministry order. He alleged that Lal deserved a caste certificate in the format prescribed for migrated category SC though he was issued a caste certificate in the format prescribed for non-migrated category.
Lal’s advocate Harsh Kumar informed the development saying the caste certificate cancellation order has been challenged as the probe committee violated the law of natural justice and did not give a proper opportunity to the affected party to justify his caste certificate.
The controversy over the caste certificate is going on since he filed a nomination to contest the election as a BJP candidate from the Kanke assembly constituency which is reserved for scheduled castes. Lal sees it as a conspiracy hatched by the Congress party.
He was of the opinion that his caste certificate was not challenged earlier when he contested three times as an RJD candidate and two times as a JMM candidate.
