HC reprieve to Cong corporator

AN INDORE High Court bench, comprising Justice N K Mody, on Thursday stayed the order issued by high level SC Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee in connection with Congress corporator Dilip Kaushal on the grounds that he was not given adequate opportunity to be heard.

AN INDORE High Court bench, comprising Justice N K Mody, on Thursday stayed the order issued by high level SC Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee in connection with Congress corporator Dilip Kaushal on the grounds that he was not given adequate opportunity to be heard.

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In his petition, filed through his counsel Vivek Dalal, Kaushal charged the Committee headed by Tribal Welfare Department with giving ex-parte decision, which was politically motivated.

The petition states that the Committee did not grant Kaushal opportunity to place his views and furnish proof in support thereof. The petitioner said that he was present at Satpuda Bhavan at Bhopal when the Committee met, but his presence was ignored.

The Committee had disqualified Kaushal on January 31 after finding him guilty of fudging caste antecedents in order to contest from a reserved seat.

Kaushal had contested and won the civic body polls from ward 64, a seat reserved for ST candidates. The corporator had submitted a certificate attesting him to be a Bhunjia (a Scheduled Tribe) at the time of filing of nomination. However, the Committee on Wednesday declared the corporator to be a Bhadbhoonja (OBC).

The panel had ordered the cancellation of Kaushal’s caste certificate, terming it illegal and called for withdrawing all facilities extended to the corporator on the basis of the document. After the HC order, a large number of people belonging to Bhunjia community today came forward to support Kaushal’s candidature.