Guwahati High Court declares Naba Kumar Sarania ineligible for Kokrajhar LS seat, says ST certificate invalid

Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court today dismissed a writ petition by two-time MP Naba Sarania, which sought to challenge an order by the State Level Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) rescinding his Scheduled Tribe (Plains) status. The order effectively debars him from contesting in any constituency that is reserved for STs or other categories.

This means that two-time MP Naba Sarania will not be able to contest from the Kokrajharparliamentary constituency, reserved for the ST (P) community, in the ensuing LS polls.

A single-judge bench of Justice S. K. Medhi delivered the order on the writ petition filed by Sarania on March 4, 2024. He had filed the writ petition challenging a 'speaking order' of the SLSC, in which he was declared as not belonging to the ST (P) community. The state's Department of Tribal Affairs (Plains) subsequently passed an order cancelling the caste certificate for Sarania.

Assam's advocate general, Devajit Saikia, told the media, "The honourable court dismissed his writ petition challenging the State-Level Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) order dated January 12, 2024, while upholding the same and also upholding the consequential order dated January 20, 2024, passed by the state government, cancelling the ST(P) certificate issued in favour of Naba Kumar Sarania. The court did not give him any further relief, effectively debarring him from contesting from any constituency that is reserved for ST or other categories."

Saikia further said that HC judge Justice S. K. Medhi delivered the judgement dismissing Sarania's writ petition after conducting hearings and upheld the SLSC order as well as the state government's one on January 20, 2024.

Sarania has been representing the Kokrajhar (ST) constituency as an independent in the LokSabha since 2014 and has announced his intention to contest for a third successive term from the same seat going to the polls on May 7.

Sarania had contended that he belongs to the BoroKachari community, which has notified ST (P) status, and is a member of LokSabha from Kokrajhar constituency, which is reserved for the same community.

Earlier, the two-judge bench of Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice SumanShyam set aside the March 27, 2024, order by a single judge, which revoked the Speaking Order of the state government passed on January 12, 2024, raising a question mark on Sarania's caste and posing a barrier to his contesting the upcoming LokSabha elections.

The interim order by the single judge, staying the speaking order by the SLSC, had allowed Sarania to contest in the upcoming LokSabha polls.

The order issued by the two-judge bench ruled that the impugned order passed by the single judge could not be sustained and set it aside.

Moreover, the bench said that at that stage they were not going into the question of inclusion of the 'SaraniaKachari' community in the tribal list since this may have some bearing on the merits of the case and, therefore, left it open for the single judge to adjudicate upon the question.

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