Authority: High Court of Judicature at Madras

Order Date: 16.09.2026

Case Overview

  • Petitioner: A. Jegannathan, a former employee of Chennai Port Trust, claimed to belong to the Hindu Urali tribe (a Scheduled Tribe in Tamil Tamil Nadu) and was issued a community certificate on 31.07.1980.
  • Employment timeline: appointed as Mazdoor on 08.03.1982, promoted to Assistant Shed Master (1983), Shed Master (1984), Section Superintendent (2006); superannuation on 31.01.2013 after 33 years of service.
  • Upon retirement, only a provisional pension was granted; full pension, gratuity, leave salary and other terminal benefits were withheld pending verification of his Scheduled‑Tribe status.
  • Writ Petition No. 12138 of 2020 (Article 226) sought a mandamus directing the respondents to sanction full pension with 12 % per annum interest without awaiting community‑certificate verification.
  • Writ Petition No. 22361 of 2021 (Article 226) sought a certiorari to produce records of the State Level Scrutiny Committee‑III order dated 19.08.2021 and to quash that order.
  • The State Level Scrutiny Committee‑III, acting under GO(2D).No.108 (12.09.2007) and GO.No.106 (15.10.2012), examined the certificate. It concluded the petitioner belongs to the Urali Gounder caste, not the Urali Scheduled Tribe, and that the certificate was obtained fraudulently.
  • Evidence considered by the Committee included: (a) statements from the petitioner’s cousin, uncle, sister‑in‑law, other relatives and village residents confirming he is Urali Gounder; (b) school records of the petitioner and his siblings/cousins listing “Urali Gounder”; (c) an anthropologist’s report; (d) multiple vigilance and district‑level enquiries dating back to 1983‑1990 that repeatedly found the certificate non‑genuine.
  • The petitioner argued that verification after retirement and for pre‑1995 appointments violated GO(2D).No.108, GO.No.106 and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes directives, and that COVID‑19 prevented his appearance before the Committee.
  • The Court examined the petitioner’s representations dated 20.11.2020 and 17.11.2020, finding no substantive proof of COVID‑19 impediment and noting that the petitioner had previously filed numerous writs (e.g., W.P. 9751 of 1985, W.P. 15836 of 1990) seeking similar relief.
  • The Court referred to the Full Bench judgment in R. Gurusamy (W.P. 23827 of 2025) and the Supreme Court decision in Chairman & MD, Food Corporation of India vs Jagdish Balaram Bahira (2017 8 SCC 670), holding that benefits obtained on the basis of a false caste claim constitute constitutional fraud and can be withdrawn even after superannuation.
  • The Court rejected the petitioner’s COVID‑19 argument, noting that the petition was filed during the pandemic and that no request for adjournment on that ground was made to the Committee.
  • The Court observed that the petitioner repeatedly used procedural delays to retain benefits, amounting to an abuse of process.

Final Outcome

  • Both writ petitions (W.P. 12138 of 2020 and W.P. 22361 of 2021) are dismissed.
  • The Chennai Port Trust is entitled to act on the State Level Scrutiny Committee‑III order dated 19.08.2021 and may deny the petitioner any further pension or employment benefits.
  • No order as to costs was made.
  • The connected miscellaneous petition is closed.

Topics: Pension, Scheduled‑Tribe Verification