Karnataka SC/ST & OBC Act Doesn’t Take Away HC’s Jurisdiction To Decide Election Dispute Questioning Caste Of A Returned Candidate: Karnataka HC
The Karnataka High Court has held that the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (Reservation of Appointments, etc.) Act, 1990 (the Act) does not take away the jurisdiction of the High Court to decide an election dispute questioning the caste of a returned candidate to the Legislative Assembly.
The Court dismissed an application seeking the rejection of an election petition challenging the caste status of B. Devendrappa (Respondent) the returned candidate from the Jagalur Assembly Constituency. The Bench also rejected the application filed under Order VII Rule 11 of the CPC observing that election disputes, including those questioning a candidate’s caste status, fall within the jurisdiction of the High Court under Sections 80 and 80A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RPA).
A Single Bench of Justice Anant Ramanath Hegde held, “The DCVC is a creature of a statute with a statutorily defined role. Its exclusive jurisdiction is confined to the caste certificates covered under the Act of 1990 and not beyond and certainly the jurisdiction conferred on it will not eclipse the jurisdiction of the High Court conferred under the Act of 1951. Thus, viewed from any angle it is not possible to hold that provisions of the Act of 1990, take away the jurisdiction of the High Court acting under the Act of 1951 to decide the dispute concerning the returned candidate’s caste.”
Senior Advocate Pramila Nesaragi represented the Petitioner, while Senior Advocate Shashikiran Shetty appeared for the Respondent.
The Election Petition was filed by G. Swamy (Petitioner) alleging that the Respondent did not belong to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) but instead was from the Other Backward Community, making him ineligible to contest from the ST-reserved Jagalur Assembly Constituency. The Petitioner contended that the Respondent fraudulently secured a caste certificate to contest the elections.
The Respondent opposed the Petition and filed an application seeking its rejection on grounds that the Petitioner failed to plead material facts constituting a cause of action and that the jurisdiction to decide caste validity lies with the District Caste Verification Committee (DCVC) under the Act, not the High Court. It was also submitted that the petition was barred by res judicata as the caste of the respondent had been upheld in a prior case.
The High Court stated that the State had no power to legislate contrary to matters listed in List-I to the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. “In fact, the State has not enacted any law or provision overstepping its legislative competence to curtail the scope of Sections 80 and 80A of the Act of 1951,” it remarked. This being the position, the Bench held that there was no scope to raise a contention that in view of the Act, the High Court cannot decide the issue concerning the returned candidate’s caste.
“It is true that the caste of a person cannot be different for different purposes. If a certificate is issued certifying a person to be caste ‘X’, for one purpose, his caste will be and should be ‘X’ for all other purposes as well. One cannot claim that his caste is ‘X’ for one purpose and ‘Y’ for another. However, said logic does not give primacy to the decisions of DCVC in derogation of the jurisdiction conferred on the High Court under the Act of 1951,” the Court observed.
Consequently, the Court held that “the Karnataka Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (Reservation of Appointments, etc.) Act, 1990, does not take away the jurisdiction of the High Court, to decide an election dispute questioning the caste of a returned candidate to the Legislative Assembly.”
Cause Title: G. Swamy v. B. Devendrappa
Appearance:
Petitioner: Senior Advocate Pramila Nesaragi; Advocates J.S.Madhukumar, Narendra Patgar and Bindu.U
Respondent: Senior Advocate Shashikiran Shetty; Advocates Mahesh Choudhary and Krishika Vaishnav
