Nagpur: Supreme Court recently directed Amravati University (AU) to declare the sixth- and eighth-semester examination results of a former BPharm student whose Scheduled Tribe certificate had been cancelled, and to issue her degree certificate if she has qualified.A bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Manmohan allowed the appeals filed by the student, Cynthia Charlie, against two orders of the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court.Charlie was admitted to a four-year BPharm course at an affiliated college in the Scheduled Tribe category in 2014-15. But Cynthia paid fees applicable to open-category students after the college informed her that she was eligible for admission in that category.The Caste Scrutiny Committee, however, rejected her caste claim on May 31, 2017, citing her failure to produce material substantiating her claim that she belonged to the Gond Tribe. Later, she completed the course in 2018. AU subsequently withheld her sixth- and eighth-semester mark sheets and degree certificate because of the cancellation of her caste certificate.Charlie first approached HC in 2020, challenging the scrutiny committee’s decision. Dismissing her plea on June 27, 2022, the HC bench held that she failed to establish her claim to Scheduled Tribe status and had not produced a valid caste certificate.In October 2022, however, the college principal issued a no-objection certificate stating that Charlie had studied from 2014-15 to 2018-19 in the open category and had paid all requisite fees and dues. The principal communicated to AU that her withheld mark sheets and other educational documents could be released.After the university did not release the documents, Charlie filed another writ petition. The high court dismissed it on February 7, 2025, holding that the earlier 2022 judgment had attained finality and that the principal’s subsequent communication did not create an independent cause of action.Supreme Court took a different course on the limited issue of her academic documents. It directed AU to announce her sixth- and eighth-semester results and, “if she has qualified,” issue her degree certificate and return all her original testimonials within three weeks.At the same time, the court expressly preserved the legal consequence of the cancellation of her ST certificate. It directed that Charlie “shall not place any reliance whatsoever” on the cancelled certificate for future studies or public employment. It also barred her from seeking a fresh certificate on the basis that she belongs to the Scheduled Tribe category.#Key takeawaysSC allowed student’s appeals against two HC Nagpur Bench ordersAmravati University told to declare her sixth- and eighth-semester BPharm resultsAll original academic testimonials held by AU must be returnedHer ST caste certificate was cancelled by the Caste Scrutiny Committee in 2017Court did not revive or validate her ST statusShe cannot rely on the cancelled certificate for future studies or public employmentShe also cannot seek a fresh ST certificate on the same basis
