Sameer Wankhede moves HC against show-cause notice over caste certificate

Sameer Wankhede claimed that even though his mother was a Muslim by religion, he had professed Hindu religion since birth and had been following Hindu practices and customs

The Narcotics Control Bureau's (NCB) former zonal director Sameer Wankhede has approached the Bombay High Court challenging a notice issued to him by a caste certificate scrutiny committee, asking him to show cause as to why his caste certificate should not be confiscated.

The Mumbai District Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee had on April 29 this year issued the notice to Mr. Wankhede noting that perusal of complaints and documents proves that he (Wankhede) belongs to the Muslim religion, and asked him to show cause as to why his caste certificate should not be cancelled and confiscated.

In his petition filed in the high court on May 4, Mr. Wankhede claimed that the notice was "illegal, arbitrary and issued without giving him an opportunity to defend himself". He reiterated that he belongs to the Mahar community, which is recognised as a Scheduled Caste (SC) and that he had neither given any false information nor filed any false documents while obtaining the caste certificate.

The Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer claimed that even though his mother was a Muslim by religion, he had professed Hindu religion since birth and had been following Hindu practices and customs.

"At the time of the birth of the petitioner (Wankhede), without the petitioner's father's knowledge and consent, the name Dawood K Wankhede was incorrectly provided to the hospital (as father's name) and 'Muslim' was incorrectly recorded in the birth register," the petition said.

When Mr. Wankhede was 10-years-old, his father initiated necessary steps to ensure that his school records and his name in the birth register were corrected.