The Supreme Court has directed a Maharashtra university to announce the examination results and release the degree certificate and original educational documents of a former B.Pharm student whose Scheduled Tribe certificate had been cancelled by the competent authority.
A Bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Manmohan allowed the appeals filed by Cynthia Julious Charlie and directed the respondent university to announce her results for the 6th and 8th semester examinations and, if she had qualified, issue her degree certificate and return all original testimonials lying with the university.
Student Had Completed B.Pharm in 2018
Cynthia Julious Charlie had been admitted to the four-year full-time B.Pharm course at the respondent college affiliated with Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University in the Scheduled Tribe category for the academic year 2014-15.
Although admitted under the reserved category, she paid fees equivalent to those applicable to students in the open category after the college informed her that she was eligible for admission from the open category.
She completed her B.Pharm course in 2018.
However, on May 31, 2017, the Caste Scrutiny Committee rejected her caste certificate after finding that she had failed to produce sufficient material to substantiate her claim of belonging to the Gond Scheduled Tribe.
Following the cancellation of the certificate, the university allegedly withheld her 6th and 8th semester marksheets and degree certificate.
Bombay High Court Had Earlier Dismissed Her Plea
The student initially approached the Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench, challenging the Caste Scrutiny Committee's order.
The High Court dismissed her writ petition on June 27, 2022, observing that she had failed to produce documents establishing her claim of belonging to the Gond Scheduled Tribe and had also failed to produce a valid caste certificate despite being given an opportunity to do so.
The High Court further held that under the applicable Directorate of Technical Education rules, her admission could not be converted into an open-category admission.
Subsequently, the Principal of the college issued a No-Objection Certificate on October 6, 2022, stating that the student had been admitted during 2014-15 to 2018-19 in the open category, had paid all requisite fees and dues, and that her marksheets and other educational documents could be released.
She thereafter issued a legal notice to the university seeking release of the documents.
High Court Again Rejected Her Claim
The student filed another writ petition after her documents were not released.
The Bombay High Court dismissed the second petition on February 7, 2025, holding that her earlier writ petition had already been adjudicated and the order dated June 27, 2022 had attained finality.
The High Court also observed that the college Principal's communication dated October 6, 2022 could not independently create a cause of action, particularly as the communication was subsequently withdrawn.
It further held that merely paying open-category fees after taking admission under the Scheduled Tribe category did not by itself entitle the student to relief.
Supreme Court Relies on Earlier Decisions
The Supreme Court, however, allowed the appeals and disposed of them in terms of its earlier orders in Ajay Dattatraya Bandewad v. State of Maharashtra & Ors. and Mrudula v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.
The Bench consequently directed the university to announce the results of the student's 6th and 8th semester examinations and, if she had qualified, issue her degree certificate and return all original testimonials in its possession.
The exercise has been directed to be completed within three weeks from receipt of the certified copy of the Supreme Court's order.
No Benefit of Cancelled ST Certificate for Future Studies or Employment
At the same time, the Supreme Court imposed a clear restriction on the student.
The Court directed that she shall not rely upon the cancelled Scheduled Tribe certificate for any future studies or public employment, as the certificate had already been held invalid by the competent authority.
The Court further directed that she shall not take any steps to obtain a fresh certificate on the basis that she belongs to the Scheduled Tribe category.
The student had also informed the Court that she was not pressing her claim for compensation, and the submission was taken on record.
Supreme Court's Direction
The appeals were accordingly allowed and disposed of with directions for release of the student's academic records and consideration of her examination results.
The judgment does not restore or validate her cancelled Scheduled Tribe certificate. Rather, the Court specifically prohibited reliance upon that certificate for future educational or public employment purposes.
Case Details
Representation:-
For Petitioner(s):- Mr. Kshitij Kothale Adv., Mr. Sachin Singh Adv., Mr. Pratik Kumar Singh Adv., Mr. Shashank Upadhyay Adv., Mr. Vishwesh Shankar Gadage Adv., Ms. Anagha S. Desai AOR
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Avnish Singh Adv., Ms. Pushplata Singh Adv., Mr. Ankur Yadav AOR, Mr. Shrirang B. Varma Adv., Mr. Siddharth Dharmadhikari Adv., Mr. Aaditya Aniruddha Pande Adv
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