Bhubaneswar: The Orissa High Court has ruled that a person recognised as Scheduled Caste in Jharkhand cannot claim the same status in Odisha merely because he belongs to the same caste, which is classified as Scheduled Tribe in the state.
Justice Sashikanta Mishra quashed an order requiring the person to obtain tribal land-transfer permission, holding that the restriction did not apply as he could not be treated as either Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe in Odisha.
Justice Sashikanta Mishra, in an order delivered Friday, quashed a letter issued by the District Registrar-cum-Additional District Magistrate (ADM), Mayurbhanj, which had asked petitioner Binoy Krishna Das to obtain permission under the Odisha Scheduled Areas Transfer of Immovable Property (by Scheduled Tribes) Regulation, 1956, before resubmitting his sale deed.
Das, a resident of Jharkhand who lives in Baripada for business purposes, sought to sell 0.14 acres of land in Kuliana tehsil to Manas Ranjan Sethy, a Scheduled Caste person.
The sale deed, prepared March 17, was presented for registration after payment of the required stamp duty and registration fees. However, the Sub-Registrar refused to accept it without issuing a formal order.
The petitioner later approached the District Registrar-cum-ADM, who informed him that the ‘Bhuiya’ caste, to which he belongs, is classified as a Scheduled Tribe in Odisha and that prior permission was required for the land transfer.
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The petitioner contended that he was recognised as a Scheduled Caste member in Jharkhand and that the restrictions governing transfers by Scheduled Tribes under the 1956 Regulation did not apply to him. The state government opposed the plea, arguing that ‘Bhuiya’ is included in Odisha’s Scheduled Tribe list and that the petitioner could not sell the land without the required permission, as the buyer was not a Scheduled Tribe member.
The court observed that a person migrating to another state does not carry the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe status recognised in the state of origin. Such status is determined by the Presidential notification applicable to the state concerned, in line with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Action Committee on Issue of Caste Certificate to SCs/STs v. union of India. The court further held that the 1956 Regulation applies only to Scheduled Tribes notified as such for Odisha.
Since Das could not be treated as belonging to either the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe category in Odisha, the restrictions under the Regulation and Section 22 of the Odisha Land Reforms Act were not attracted.
Allowing the writ petition, the court directed the Sub-Registrar-cum-Tahasildar to register the sale deed within three days of the petitioner producing a certified copy of the order, subject to compliance with other statutory requirements.
