Pre-Independence Records Hold Greater Weight Than ‘Affinity Tests’ in Determining Scheduled Tribe Status: Supreme Court
On August 12, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Yogesh Madhav Makalwad, emphasizing that affinity tests should not be treated as a mandatory step for determining caste or tribe status. The bench, comprising Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and K Vinod Chandran, highlighted that credible pre-Independence documents carry higher evidentiary value. The court directed the Caste Scrutiny Committee to issue a Caste Validity Certificate within six weeks, recognizing the appellant as belonging to the Koli Mahadev Tribe.
The ruling overturned a Bombay High Court judgment that had upheld the committee’s earlier invalidation of Makalwad’s caste claim. The top court observed that, over time, tribal communities have increasingly integrated into mainstream society, and inability to recall traditional customs, rituals, or anthropological traits cannot automatically nullify a claim.
Key Evidence:
A 1943 pre-Independence school record documented the appellant’s grandfather, Jalba Malba Makalwad, as Koli Mahadev. The court noted that this entry had been wrongly disregarded based on assumptions. A handwriting analysis confirmed the record’s authenticity, ruling out any tampering.
The judgment cited Anand v Committee for Scrutiny & Verification of Tribe Claims (2012), which established that pre-Independence records outweigh post-Independence documents for verifying caste status, and that affinity tests cannot be treated as conclusive evidence. The Supreme Court also referred to Maharashtra Adiwasi Thakur Jamat Swarakshan Samiti v State of Maharashtra (2023), which emphasized that affinity test results must be considered alongside other probative material.
Background:
- In 1943, the appellant’s grandfather was admitted to Zilla Parishad Primary School, Narangal, with caste recorded as Koli Mahadev.
- In 1975 and 1979, his uncle and father were admitted to Zilla Parishad Primary School, Kabirwadi, with the same caste entry.
- In 2005, the appellant’s own admission record at Janta Vidya Mandir Primary School, Murud Taluka, Latur District, also reflected Koli Mahadev.
- Census data from 2001 indicated that the village’s SC/ST population exceeded 40%.
In 2019, after qualifying NEET UG for medical admission, the appellant applied to validate his caste certificate. The Scrutiny Committee rejected the claim, disbelieving multiple documents and confiscating the certificate. The High Court upheld this decision, but the Supreme Court disagreed, noting that the earlier findings were based on presumptions and did not give due weight to pre-Independence evidence.
The top court concluded that the committee’s order and the High Court’s decision were legally unsustainable, and ordered the immediate issuance of the Caste Validity Certificate to the appellant.
