SC provides relief to senior Karnataka officer Singappa on caste issue, says 'Ganiger' is same as 'Ganiga'

The Supreme Court has said 'Ganiger’ is a variant of the word ‘Ganiga’, found in north Karnataka region, and Hindu-Ganiga and Lingayat-Ganiga are not two different castes.

A bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and J K Maheshwari dismissed a plea filed by M V Chandrakanth against the Karnataka High Court's division bench order which set aside the single bench's decision against the 'Ganiga' caste certificate issued to Sangappa Hasanappa Malennanavar to claim OBC reservation.

Sangappa was among the 1999 batch candidates selected for appointment to Gazetted Probationers Group A and B posts. Chandrakanth was selected for the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police and Singappa was selected for the post of Assistant Commissioner (Junior Grade Scale). Chandrakanth contended that in 2005, he came to know that Sangappa's father belonged to the ‘Lingayat’ caste whereas Sangappa had claimed the benefit of reservation, claiming that he belonged to the ‘Ganiga’ caste.

As the matter reached before a single bench of the HC, it noted Singappa's father belonged to the Hindu Lingayat caste as the school records reveal that his father was a Lingayat or Lingavantha. The division bench, however, allowed an appeal and set aside the single bench's order.

Finding the division bench's decision as well reasoned, the top court noted that the division bench had correctly analysed the facts of the case and found that reservation to backward classes had not been introduced when Sangappa's father had been admitted to school in 1953.

By the time, he came to be admitted to school, reservation policy for backward classes had been introduced. This could be the reason why the caste was not entered in the school records of his father where only ‘Lingayat’ was mentioned but in the case of Singappa the caste was mentioned as ‘Hindu Ganiga’, it noted.

"A Lingayat is also a Hindu governed by the Hindu Succession Act 1956, the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956 and the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956. The caste of Sangappa was thus shown as ‘Hindu-Lingayat’ in the school registers by his father," the court noted.

During the pendency of the matter, Singappa produced a registered document of the year 1909 where the caste of his great grandfather was shown as ‘Ganiger’. The document is relevant as it proves the caste of Sangappa to be ‘Ganiga’. Sangappa had also relied upon caste certificates issued to his relatives, showing their caste as ‘Ganiga’, the top court said.

Advocate H Chandra Sekhar appeared for Sangappa before the top court.