PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa, on Tuesday, held that the Other Backward Classes (OBC) certificate issued to Benaulim Zilla Panchayat (ZP) member Hanzel Fernandes by the Salcete Deputy Collector was invalid and didn’t have any legal effect from inception.
Fernandes was the lone Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member who got elected from Benaulim ZP seat reserved for OBC candidates in 2020. Fernandes was issued the caste certificate certifying that he belonged to Vishwakarma/Chari/Mesta community, which was recognised as an OBC in the State list and Central list.
The Petitioner Uday Chari of Panjim, by a writ petition, had challenged the judgment and order dated February 13, 2023 of the Caste Scrutiny Committee (CSC), declining to set aside the caste certificate dated March 5, 2020 issued by the Deputy Collector, Salcete or rather verified such caste certificate issued to Fernandes.
The petitioner had also challenged the Vigilance report dated November 9, 2022 and the OBC certificates dated March 5, 2020, December 12, 2013 and June 4, 2010 as invalid and void ab initio (having no legal effect from inception).
Arguing on behalf of the petitioner, Adv V Naik submitted that the government notification dated December 29, 2006 only includes ‘Vishwakarma/Chari/Mesta’ in the State list of OBC community and that the notification does not either include or clarify that it also include Christian Vishwakarma/Chari/Mesta.
He argued that since there was no reference to Christian in the notification dated December 29, 2006, neither the Deputy Collector, who issued the caste certificate nor the CSC were authorised to issue or verify that Fernandes belonged to the OBC category.
He said that the impugned certificate and the impugned judgment and order verifying the same were illegal, null and void and ultra vires (beyond one’s legal power or authority).
Advocate General Devidas Pagam told the Court that the government notification had only classified Vishwakarma/Chari/Mesta in the State list of OBC.
Normally there are no castes among Christians. Therefore, if any Christians were intended to be included in the State list of OBCs, notifications clearly say so by using the expression ‘Koli/Kharvi (including Christian Kharvi)’ or ‘Agri (including Christian Saleiro/Saleineiro’. Since, in this case, no such expression was used in the notification, it is clear that, at least as of now Christian Vishwakarma/Chari/Mesta cannot be regarded as belonging to OBCs.
Adv J A Lobo, who represented Fernandes, defended the impugned judgment and order of the CSC based on the reasoning reflected therein. He said that notification dated December 29, 2006 did not exclude Christian Vishwakarma/Chari/Mesta.
He further said that the Vigilance cell’s report had established that Fernandes belonged to ‘Mesta’ community involved in occupation of ‘carpentry’ and prayed that he should not be deprived of the benefit of the government’s notification merely because he belonged to the Christian community.
