# Supreme Court allows student with false ST certificate to keep degree 2026-08-19T12:54:18+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Supreme Court has directed an institution affiliated to Sant Gadge Baba Amaravati University to declare the withheld semester results of a pharmacy student and issue her degree certificate, even though her Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate was cancelled. The bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Manmohan noted that the student had paid fees at the open-category rate throughout her course. The court set aside the Bombay High Court's orders, relying on earlier rulings in Ajay Dattatraya Bandewad and Mrudula cases. The student was admitted in 2014-15 under the ST category but switched to open category after the college informed her she was eligible. Her caste certificate was rejected by the Scrutiny Committee in 2017 for lack of evidence. The university withheld her 6th and 8th semester marksheets and degree. The High Court had twice dismissed her petitions. The Supreme Court clarified that the student cannot use the cancelled ST certificate for future studies or public employment, and cannot seek a fresh ST certificate. ## Indian Opinion Analysis LiveLaw's report is a neutral factual account of the Supreme Court judgment, detailing the legal reasoning and conditions attached to the relief. Free Press Journal's story is also neutral, covering a similar but separate case from Madhya Pradesh High Court. Both outlets stick to court rulings without editorialising. The measured takeaway: the Supreme Court balanced the student's completed degree and fees paid against the cancelled certificate, imposing clear bars on future ST claims. Watch how universities implement similar cases pending in other states. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - livelaw.in (neutral report) Straight legal reporting of SC judgment, no framing beyond facts. - freepressjournal.in (neutral report) Neutral court case report, no slant detected. This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-19T21:13:00+00:00. Tags: Bombay High Court, Caste Scrutiny Committee, Sant Gadge Baba Amaravati University, Supreme Court Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/supreme-court-allows-st-certificate-fraud-student-to-keep-degree/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/supreme-court-allows-st-certificate-fraud-student-to-keep-degree/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/