NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday made it clear that a caste or sub-caste seeking quota benefits under the OBCs category can enjoy the benefits only if it is recognised by the state government concerned and a mere similarity of names does not automatically entitle a person to the benefits in another state.
A Bench comprising Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Chalameshwar said that similarities of names between main caste and sub-caste also did not grant a person the benefit unless it was officially recognised by the state for granting the quota benefits.
The Bench passed the order while dismissing an appeal filed by Bharati Balkrishna Dhongade, a Mumbai civic corporator, whose 2007 election was challenged by her rival Safia Parveen Abdul Munaf on the ground that she had contested the election on an OBC ticket though she belonged to Namdeo Shimpi, which was not recognised.
The caste scrutiny committee and the Bombay HC had held that Dhongade did not belong to the OBC as Namdeo Shimpi was not recognised by Maharashtra.