Case Detail: Akshata Chougala vs The State of Karnataka and Ors
The single bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna of Karnataka High Court while allowing a batch of petition to the post of Graduate Primary Teachers directed the state government to consider the caste certificate of parents instead of spouses by applicants for the applied post.
A notification was issued by state government calling for applications for the posts of Graduate Primary Teachers from 6th std to 8th std classes in government and aided institutions.
The DDIP declined to accept the category and income certificates of applicants as they submitted the said certificate of their father instead of their spouses and those applications which accompanied caste and income certificates of the father were all treated to be general merit candidates despite being entitled to reservation under Category 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B, of OBC.
Relying upon the judgment of Supreme Court in the case of SURINDER SINGH v. PUNJAB STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD AND ORS – (2014) 15 SCC 767, the bench said “The submission of the learned Advocate General is, that the Apex Court in the case of INDRA SAWHNEY had permitted the State Governments to regulate the procedures providing reservations to other backward classes and therefore, the Government Order dated 12.12.1986 or the Government Order dated 12.12.1986 or the Government Order dated 28.10.1993 should be followed, would amount to placing the Government Order on a higher pedestal than that of the judgment of the Apex Court, the Division Bench of this Court and that of the co-ordinate Bench, which can by no stretch of imagination be done, therefore, the said submission is rejected.”
Bench held “The action of the Selecting authority – DDPI in interpreting and holding that the caste and income of the husband is to be taken into consideration is contrary to law and a direction is to be issued to the respondents to consider the applications of the petitioners on the basis of caste and income certificates of the parents and not their spouse and as belonging to the respective categories against which they have applied for.”
Story update by Correspondent Ms. Sai Sushmitha Namala, Veeravalli College of Law, Rajahmundry.
