CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has directed the registration of a sale deed executed by a Jharkhand resident, ruling that a person belonging to a caste notified as Scheduled Caste in one state cannot automatically be treated as a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe in another state.
Considering a writ petition filed by Binoy Krishna Das, the court quashed a letter issued by the district registrar-cum-additional district magistrate (ADM), Mayurbhanj, which had asked him to obtain permission from the competent authority before selling his land in the district.
Justice Sashikanta Mishra, in the recent judgment, held that the restriction imposed under Odisha Regulation 2 of 1956, which regulates the transfer of land belonging to Scheduled Tribes, could not be applied to Das merely because his caste was notified as a Scheduled Tribe in Odisha.
Das, a resident of Jharkhand who stays in Baripada for his trading business, owns 0.14 acres of land at Gangraj village under Kuliana tehsil in Mayurbhanj district. The land is recorded in his name in the record of rights (RoR).
Belonging to the Bhuiya caste, which is notified as a Scheduled Caste in Jharkhand, Das decided to sell the land to meet his medical expenses and repay a hand loan. He entered into an agreement with Manas Ranjan Sethy, a Scheduled Caste member, who paid Rs 10 lakh and took possession of the property.
A sale deed executed on March 17 was presented before the sub-registrar, Kuliana, along with the requisite stamp duty and registration fees. However, the registering authority refused to accept it without issuing a formal order.
When Das approached the district registrar-cum-ADM, he was informed through a letter dated April 23 that Bhuiya was classified as a Scheduled Tribe in Odisha and that prior permission was required under Regulation 2 of 1956.
Challenging the decision, Das argued that his Scheduled Caste status in Jharkhand could not be converted into Scheduled Tribe status in Odisha and that the restriction on tribal land transfers did not apply to him.
Upholding the challenge, Justice Mishra explained that caste and tribe classifications in the Presidential notifications are state-specific and based on the socio-economic conditions of communities in the respective states.
Justice Mishra observed that a person migrating to another state does not carry with him the status of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe enjoyed in the state of origin. The Judge further held that since Bhuiya is not notified as a Scheduled Caste in Odisha, Das could not claim that status here. Equally, he could not automatically be treated as a Scheduled Tribe member merely because Bhuiya is listed as an ST in Odisha.
He quashed the ADM’s April 23 letter and directed the sub-registrar-cum-tehsildar, Kuliana, to register the sale deed within three days of production of the certified copy of the order, subject to compliance with other statutory requirements.
