Can 'Sikh Chamar' Be Regarded As 'Mochi' Caste In Maharashtra? Supreme Court Considers In Navneet Kaur Rana's Case

The Supreme Court on Thursday (February 23), resuming its hearing on the issue of cancellation of the caste certificate of Amravati MP Navneet Kaur Rana, dwelled into the aspect of the purpose and scope of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 and how the designation of Scheduled Castes in different states varied on sociological basis. The bench comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and Sanjay Karol was hearing the matter. The Bombay High Court, in 2021, had set aside her caste certificate, observing that she had fraudulently obtained 'mochi' caste certificate, despite records which showed that she belonged to 'Sikh-Chamar' caste. This led to the invalidation of her election from the seat reserved for Scheduled Castes. Senior Advocate Mr Kapil Sibal appearing for one of the respondents(opposing the caste status of Navneet Kaur Rana), stressed that the very purpose of the 1950 Order was to ensure that fraudulent certificates were not issued to misuse the provisions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Constitution. “ What's the purpose of this? To ensure that I do not fabricate documents and lead evidence to say that this caste is mentioned here, though I belong to this segment (within an SC) though it is not directly mentioned here but declare that I am part of this caste. Why was the Presidential order declared in 1950? To ensure that no such inquiry takes place because , what will happen in politics- no rule- number of such claims will be made …The idea is to avoid infiltration into the political arena of people who do not directly or specifically belong to that caste. To infiltrate into the system, claim that and fight in the Parliament.” Mr Sibal, while dealing with the interpretation of law, focused on how Article 341 of the Constitution provided powers to the President to notify and designate a caste as a 'Scheduled Caste' and Article 366(24) provided for the definition of 'Scheduled Caste'. "Scheduled Castes" means such castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups within such castes, races or tribes as are deemed under article 341 to be Scheduled Castes for the purposes of this Constitution;” Mr Sibal analysed that the above definition was an all-inclusive one. He said, “It enumerates not just the caste, the Castes within the Scheduled Caste by whatever nomenclature or parts of such castes, whatever the nomenclature as are set out and are deemed to be such castes.” Picking from there, Mr Sibal emphasized that the contention of the petitioner to view the caste 'Ravidaasiya Mochi' as synonymous to 'Mochi/Mochigar/Chambhar' (the latter being enlisted under the 1950 Constitution Order under State List of Bombay) would be incorrect as the former is a subclassification of the category mochi and by allowing so, the Court would step into the shoes of the Parliament in modifying the Scheduled Caste list. Mr Sibal further argued that while Ravidaasiya Caste was notified under the Punjab List, the same was not there under the Bombay List and hence the petitioner could not avail the benefits of being a Ravidaasiya in Maharashtra. He opined, “ This matter could have been closed the day she was not able to establish that she didn't fall in the state entry (as specified in 1950 Order)”To which Justice Sanjay Karol inquired, “ Suppose a person is a mochi in a state where it is not notified and he migrates to another state, where he is notified to be mochi, would he be or not be entitled to the benefit?” Sibal answered that it depends, on the date of migration as such persons are required to come before the deemed date of such a notification.Ravidaasiya Mochi or Sikh Chamar? - Petitioner Clarifies The case of the petitioner Navneet Kaur Rana was that her forefathers belonged to the Sikh-Chamaar Caste. It was explained that 'Sikh' here was a religious pre-fix and doesn't pertain to the caste. 'Chamar' is the caste of the petitioner. It was contended that the forefathers of the petitioner were cobblers- mochi and were interrelated to the skin tanners- 'Chamaars'. Senior Advocate Dhruv Mehta appearing on behalf of the petitioner, explained, “ Sikh is a religious pre-fix, it's not a caste. Caste is chamaar or mochi. So far as the Ravidaasiya is concerned, it is mentioned in the Guru Granth Sahib is one of the Gurus (of the 10 Sikh Gurus) and is referred to as both a Mochi and a Chamaar” Mr Mehta further submitted that both Chamaar and Mochi are enlisted in the Constitutional Presidential Order of 1950. However, taking note of the fact that the caste certificate only mentions 'mochi' in the designated area, Justice JK Maheshwari asked, “ You are Sikh, alright? Where does 'Sikh Chamar' or 'Ravidaasiya Mochi' this word has come from? Because the certificate only says mochi” To which Mr Mehta replied that the indenture of tenancy which the petitioner relies upon to verify her caste certificate mentions 'Sikh Chamaar' so does the bonafide certificate along with the original register of the year 1946...

Can 'Sikh Chamar' Be Regarded As 'Mochi' Caste In Maharashtra? Supreme Court Considers In Navneet Kaur Rana's Case

Anmol Kaur Bawa

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