Fresh Caste-Certificate Inquiry Needs New Material After Earlier Verification: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has set aside cancellation of a Scheduled Tribe community certificate, holding that authorities cannot repeatedly reopen the same allegation merely because another complaint is received.

Background

The petitioner, an employee of APSPDCL, had already been subjected to a vigilance inquiry concerning her community status. That inquiry had confirmed the certificate.

Legal issue and Court's reasoning

A later complaint led to another inquiry and eventual cancellation. The High Court found that the authorities failed to give proper weight to the earlier verification and did not identify any genuinely new material requiring the issue to be reopened.

The Court held that once a comprehensive inquiry has concluded, a subsequent complaint should first be tested against that record. A fresh inquiry may be justified where the new complaint produces additional material that was ignored or unavailable earlier, but repetition of the same allegation is insufficient.

Result and practical consequence

The judgment also cautioned employers against mechanically entertaining frivolous complaints because repeated status inquiries can have serious professional and personal consequences for employees.

The cancellation orders were set aside.