Kohima: The Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench, will decide if the Deputy Commissioner of Kiphire holds the legal power to settle disputes over Indigenous Inhabitant Certificates. Justices Devashis Baruah and Helen Dawngliani admitted an appeal on September 16. They set a final hearing date for September 22.
This case centers on a certificate issued in 2017. A Single Judge previously dismissed a writ petition on December 12, 2025. That court backed a May 31, 2024, order from the Deputy Commissioner. That official ruling concluded the certificate holder was not the biological daughter of her listed father. The court refused to block the decision. Now, the Division Bench must determine if local authorities have the jurisdiction to judge these claims.
Counsel for the appellant argued that the May 31, 2024, order bars his client from accessing state benefits. These perks fall under Article 342 and Part XVI of the Constitution. Time is short. The court acknowledged the weight of these legal arguments. The judges will now look at whether the Supreme Court ruling in the 1994 case of Kumari Madhuri Patil and Another vs Additional Commissioner, Tribal Development and Others applies here. That landmark case set a strict, state-mandated procedure for how officials must verify social status.
The appellant's counsel submitted that there was "urgency as the appellant, in view of the DC’s May 31, 2024 order, was unable to avail various benefits provided under Article 342 read with Part XVI of the Constitution." Nagaland government policy currently directs Deputy Commissioners to handle the verification process for these certificates. The upcoming September 22 hearing will resolve the extent of that administrative authority.
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