Nagaland: Children of non-Naga fathers and non-Naga children adopted by Naga parents are not eligible for ST status

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• May 18, 2023 | Dhupali Das

The Kohima district government has announced that children of non-Naga fathers, as well as non-Naga children adopted by Naga parents, are not...

Digital Desk: The Kohima district administration has announced that children of non-Naga fathers, as well as non-Naga children adopted by Naga parents, are not eligible for a scheduled tribe/backward tribe/Indigenous Inhabinat tribe certificate.

A notification states, "In pursuance to the Government of Nagaland vide P & AR OM No. RCBT-5/87 (Pt-1I1) Dated Kohima, 11 June 2012 whereby states that 'children of non-Naga fathers, as well as non-Naga children adopted by Naga parents, etc, are not to be given scheduled tribe/Backward tribe/ Indigenous Inhabitant tribe certificates', all concerned Area Administrative Officers under Kohima district arc hereby directed to maintain strict compliance while verifying the authenticity of the applicants before forwarding to the issuing authority. Further, all concerned Area Administrative Officers are directed to issue similar instructions to all the Village Councils and GBs within their respective jurisdiction for strict adherence to the Government order."

It should be noted that the Supreme Court declared in 2006 that children born of a marriage between a tribal woman and a non-tribal forward-class man cannot claim the status of the scheduled tribe and obtain employment in the government under the reserved category.

A division bench of Justices H K Sema and A R Lakshmanan ruled that the offspring of a tribal woman married to a non-tribal man cannot claim scheduled tribe status because they were raised in a forward-thinking environment and were not exposed to any disabilities.

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"A person who does not belong to the scheduled castes or scheduled tribes, declaring himself to be a member of such caste by obtaining a fake caste certificate, is a fraud on the Constitution of India," the court observed.

It stated that getting false caste certificates and obtaining appointment/admission from the reserved quota may have far-reaching effects, since worthy reserved category candidates may be deprived of positions reserved for them.

The bench ruled that such certifications should not be provided routinely without sufficient verification of the applicant's claim, citing Articles 14 (Right to Equality) and 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty) of the Constitution.

The court dismissed an appeal filed by Anjan Kumar of Gaya in Bihar, who was born of a marriage between a forward class (Kayastha) man and a woman from the Oraon tribe in Madhya Pradesh and was denied final posting as an Indian Information Service Grade-A officer despite having passed the UPSC Civil Services Examination in the scheduled tribe category in 1993.