Khanapur TDP MLA Suman Rathod heaved a sigh of relief after the Supreme Court, on Monday, directed the AP High Court to maintain status quo on the orders that
declared her election invalid.
The apex court has passed the interim directions, in this regard, to the High Court, while hearing a petition filed by Suman Rathod challenging the declaration of her election from the Khanapur Assembly segment in Adilabad district as 'invalid' due to the allegations that she did not belong to the STs.
While declaring her election 'invalid', the Andhra Pradesh High Court had given Suman Rathod 6 weeks to file a petition against the ruling before its orders were implemented.
The court had, earlier, ordered the government to produce the records and to file a counter on the caste certificate of Suman Rathod, following complaints questioning her social status.
Following the directions of the court, the government had conducted a probe and submitted a report on her caste. The report stated that Rathod was a native of Maharashtra, where the Lambadas were treated as a Backward Class.
The High Court had cancelled the caste certificate given by the Adilabad district collector to Suman Rathod, on 23 October 2009. The collector had ruled that the MLA could be termed as 'belonging to the Backward Class' and not to the Scheduled Tribe.
Suman Rathod had argued that since she had married as a child and had suffered the same disadvantages as one belongong to the local STs would suffer, she must be treated as belongong to ST.
Courtesy: INN