The Allahabad High Court, comprising Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Swarupama Chaturvedi, observed on Thursday that the existing procedure for issuing caste certificates in Uttar Pradesh leaves considerable discretion with lower‑level revenue officials, often not above the rank of Tehsildar. The bench noted that this discretion has resulted in the issuance of certificates to persons who do not belong to the notified Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes.
The observation arose during the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by the U.P. Koli Kori Pratinidhi Sabha. The petitioner contended that certificates are being granted to individuals belonging to the ‘Koli’ caste, which is not recognised as a Scheduled Caste, under the pretext of the phonetically similar ‘Kori’ caste, which is included in the Presidential Order for Scheduled Castes. The petition highlighted that while the Presidential Order delineates the exact castes eligible for certification, local authorities frequently issue documents to castes that sound or are spelled similarly, thereby facilitating misuse.
The bench remarked that, prima facie, contemporary technology permits the state to institute a robust and transparent software‑based certification mechanism for members of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes across the state. Such a system would eliminate the unwanted and unbridled discretion currently vested in executing authorities. The court suggested that the Uttar Pradesh government adopt digital verification models already employed in other sectors, incorporating unique numbering and QR‑code enabled verification procedures.
Further, the bench stated that the introduction of unique identifiers and QR codes would facilitate proper audits and checks, providing a credible means to verify the authenticity of certificates issued by state authorities. This, in turn, would safeguard the benefits intended for genuinely eligible persons and prevent the misallocation of reservations and welfare schemes.