Chembur Resident's SC Certificate Cancelled For Availing Caste Benefits In Gujarat And Maharashtra Simultaneously

The District Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee under the Social Justice and Special Assistance Department in Mumbai has cancelled a Scheduled Caste certificate issued to Harendra Ranchhod Kosia, a Chembur resident, after it was found he had already availed the same caste benefits in Gujarat. The committee ruled that an individual cannot simultaneously claim caste-based reservation benefits in two successor states.

The complaint was filed by Sanjay Keshav Gupta, a fellow candidate in the election for the Managing Committee of Nityanand Bagh Co-operative Housing Society (M Ward), Chembur. Gupta alleged that Kosia, while contesting in the Scheduled Caste (Mahyavanshi) category, submitted a Gujarat-issued caste certificate along with his nomination form. Since Kosia did not submit a Maharashtra caste certificate initially, his nomination was rejected on August 10, 2023.

However, Kosia filed an appeal and, during its pendency, applied for and obtained a Maharashtra Scheduled Caste certificate online on August 18, 2023, from the Deputy Collector (Land Acquisition), Mumbai City. This certificate was used to overturn the nomination rejection. Following this, Gupta filed a formal complaint challenging the issuance of the Maharashtra certificate.

Upon investigation, the Scrutiny Committee concluded that Kosia had concealed his Gujarat caste certificate and submitted false residence details to obtain the Maharashtra certificate. The committee stated that Kosia was already appointed in the National Textile Corporation in 1990 on a reserved seat in Gujarat, thereby having availed the reservation benefit once.

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Citing multiple Supreme Court and High Court judgments, the committee emphasized that no individual can claim reservation benefits simultaneously in two states. It also observed that Kosia’s online application lacked transparency and was supported by misleading documents.

Key directives of the committee’s report included that there should be an immediate cancellation of caste certificate, dated August 18, 2023. “Kosia is prohibited from using the said certificate in the future and must surrender the original within 15 days. Relevant authorities are instructed to ensure no benefit is granted based on the cancelled certificate. Proceedings under Section 13(B) of the Maharashtra Caste Certificate Act, 2000, will be initiated for submitting false information and obtaining a fraudulent caste certificate,” reads the order.