The Chhattisgarh High Court on Friday quashed an order of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes rejecting the ST certificate of former chief minister Ajit Jogi.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice S R Naik and Justice V K Srivastav also slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 each on the Commission and Sant Kumar Netam, who had alleged in a petition that Jogi did not belong to the Scheduled Tribe category but availed all benefits of the status.

In 2001, the Commission had, in response to the petition by the Bharatiya Janata Party leader from Bilaspur, rejected Jogi's ST status and said the certificate had been procured 'fraudulently.' It had directed the Chhattisgarh government to take action against him.

However, Jogi appealed to the high court and obtained a stay on the order, saying that the Commission had no power to decide on the caste of an individual.