GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court has dismissed a petition filed by Kokrajhar MP Naba Kumar Sarania, challenging the order of the State-Level Caste Scrutiny committee (SLSC) that he does not belong to Bodo/Bodo Kachari community, which is a recognized ST (Plains) community in Assam.
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The revoked the Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate issued to Sarania in 2011.
The court’s ruling in effect makes Sarania, a two-term Lok Sabha member, ineligible to seek re-election from the Kokrajhar seat reserved for ST candidates.
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The constituency goes to polls in the third phase on May 7.
The court held that it found no ‘illegality or impropriety’ in the SLSC's order. It observed that Sarania received the ST certificate only on October 17, 2011, and contested elections for the first time from the Kokrajhar parliamentary constituency reserved for ST candidates in 2014.
He subsequently was reelected in 2019.
Furthermore, the court also pointed out that Sarania's father, who held a government position, never asserted belonging to the Bodo/Bodo Kachari community.
The SLSC's decision was followed by another order issued by Assam’s Department of Tribal Affairs (Plains) on January 20, which invalidated the caste certificate originally issued by the Assam Tribal Sangha, Tamulpur District Unit, in October 2011.
