Marriage can’t change non-ST/SC status, says HP high court

SHIMLA : The Himachal Pradesh High Court (HC) on Monday dismissed the petition of a woman who had challenged the government decision of cancelling her Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate and terminating her employment.

The division bench comprising acting chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Ajay Mohan Goyal observed that a person who does not belong to a Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Caste category by birth, simply by virtue of marrying a person belonging thereto cannot gain the status of that particular caste or tribe.

The tribal certificate issued in favour of the petitioner rightly stands cancelled, for by birth she did not belong to a Scheduled Tribe category and as such could not have gained such status by simply marrying a person, belonging to a Scheduled Tribe category, the court order read.

“We say so for the reason that undisputedly, petitioner was not entitled to be issued a certificate that she belonged to a Scheduled Tribe category only on the strength of her husband belonging to the said tribe,” the court ruled.

The court further said, “Not only this, findings returned by the authorities while dismissing the petitioner from service also do not call for any interference, because perusal of the orders passed by the said authorities demonstrate that in fact the petitioner had submitted a false tribal certificate.