The Gujarat High Court has quashed the order cancelling the caste certificate of Kalpana Kodekar, a Congress corporator from the Kubernagar ward of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, after finding that she was not given the required opportunity to present her case.
The court directed the competent authority to give Kodekar an opportunity to respond to the show-cause notice and complete the process afresh within two months. The order follows a dispute over an earlier decision by the Joint Director of the Developing Castes Welfare Department to cancel her caste certificate.
According to the report, the High Court had previously directed the authority to hear Kodekar before taking a decision. Despite that direction, the Joint Director cancelled the certificate without giving her an opportunity to make a representation or respond to the notice. Kodekar subsequently approached the High Court, alleging a breach of the principles of natural justice.
The court had issued notice in the matter and granted interim relief to the Ahmedabad municipal corporator. It also directed the concerned Joint Director to remain present before the court after the authority proceeded without providing the hearing that had been ordered earlier.
During the proceedings, the Additional Advocate General appearing for the Gujarat government offered an unconditional apology on behalf of the concerned official. The state submitted that the order had been passed inadvertently without giving Kodekar an opportunity to be heard. The government assured the court that she would now receive a proper hearing and that the matter would be decided in accordance with the law and due procedure.
The High Court recorded that there was no dispute that the department had been required to provide Kodekar with a sufficient opportunity of hearing before deciding the issue. The court also noted that the authority had issued the decision without even sending her notice in the manner required by the earlier order.
While accepting the apology on record, the court expressed displeasure at the conduct of the Joint Director. It observed that the earlier directions had been issued in clear and simple terms and should have been understood and followed by the officer. The court did not make an adverse remark against the official at this stage, but issued a warning regarding the approach adopted in the matter.
The cancellation order has consequently been set aside. The department must now allow Kodekar to submit her response to the show-cause notice, conduct the required process and take a fresh decision within two months. The High Court’s order does not finally determine the validity of the caste certificate; it restores the procedural opportunity that the authority had failed to provide before cancelling it.
