Person Belonging To 'Teli' Caste Can't Be Denied OBC Reservation Merely For Being From Muslim Community: Rajasthan High Court

Rajasthan High Court has ruled that the caste “Teli” that had been included in the Central List of OBCs in the State of Rajasthan could include people irrespective of their religion, be it Hindus or Non-Hindus since the caste drew its name from traditional hereditary occupations whose members belonged to different religions.The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand further issued a general mandamus to all State Departments for not denying the benefits of reservation under OBC category to all those Muslim candidates who belonged to the caste that fell in the Gazette Notification issued by the State and attracted benefits under OBC category. The Court was hearing a petition wherein the petitioner, was employed under NREGA scheme under the OBC category. The petition was a Muslim Teli and was also issued an OBC certificate by the competent authority. Despite this, his employment was discontinued by the State on the ground that Teli-Muslims did not fall under the OBC category. It was the case of the petitioner that the gazette notification issued by the Rajasthan Government dated 6/8/1994, clearly indicated that the caste “Teli” fell under OBC category. Subsequently, a circular was also issued by the Department of Justice and Social Welfare, dated 8/11/1994, that further clarified that one belonging to Teli caste, whether Hindu and Non-Hindu, fell within OBC category. On the contrary, the State argued that a recent list of castes was released by the Ministry of Minority Affairs wherein Muslim-Teli were not included. After perusing the contentions, the Court accepted the submissions put forth by the petitioner, and further highlighted another notification issued by the Department of Justice and Social Welfare, dated 28/8/2009, that included “Teli” caste in the OBC category along with an explanation to the effect that, “all castes, which are known by the name of their respective traditional hereditary occupations and whose members follow different religions include all members of those castes, irrespective of whether they follow Hindu Religion or Islam or any other Religion”.In this light, the Court opined that Teli was a caste that was traditionally occupied in the oil pressing in India, Nepal and Pakistan, and members of this could be either Hindu or Muslim. The Court said that Teli was included in the Central List of OBCs in the State of Rajasthan as Entry No. 51. Hence, the Court held that there was no justification in the stand taken by the State, and held that, “Such action of the respondents is not valid being contrary to the Notification dated 28.08.2009 issued by the Department of Justice & Social Welfare. It has included all the persons who are 'Teli' by their traditional hereditary occupations irrespective of the fact that they follow Hindu, Islam or any other Religion and this fact has further been clarified vide Resolution No.12011/4/2002-BCC dated 19.06.2003.”Accordingly, the petition was allowed wherein the State was directed to grant employment to the petitioner if found eligible under OBC category based on his Teli caste, and also issued a general mandamus to all State Departments to not deny OBC reservation to all such Muslims who belonged to such caste appearing in the Gazette Notification of State. Title: Sattar Khan v Zila Parishad & Anr. Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Raj) 57Click Here To Read/Download Order

Person Belonging To 'Teli' Caste Can't Be Denied OBC Reservation Merely For Being From Muslim Community: Rajasthan High Court

Nupur Agrawal

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