The case or community of a person is to be decided on the basis of her birth in the said community and her marriage to a person to another community has no right on the grant of caste certificate said the Kerala High Court.
A single bench of Justice G.S. Ahluwalia upheld the verdict which stated that marriage to another community has no bearing on the grant of caste certificate.
The petitioner, a woman born in a Hindu-Kurvan community, a Scheduled Caste, applied for the post of a lower primary school teacher. However, her application was rejected by the Tehsildar and he refused to issue the certificate on the ground that the petitioner had married a person belonging to the Christian community.
The court referred to the Presidential notification issued under Article 341 which states that the members of the Hindu-Kuravan community are entitled to be treated as Scheduled Castes. In Article 341 it is mentioned that a person who is a member of a scheduled caste or a scheduled tribe would continue to be a member of a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe, as the case may be, even after his or her marriage with a person who doesn’t belong to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.
The petitioner in her plea contented that she was born as a Hindu-Kuravan and is not a person who had an advantageous start in life being born in a forward caste. Just because she married a Christian man will not take away her right of reservation.
“All through my life I have been suffering all handicaps and disadvantages for having been born as a member of the Scheduled Caste. I’m a Hindu by birth and conscience and has not embraced Christianity.”
The petitioner later approached the High Court after her request was dismissed by the lower court seeking a direction to the Tehsildar to issue community Certificate.
The court said that the Presidential notification issued under Article 341 shows that members of the Hindu-Kuravan community are entitled to be treated as Scheduled Caste. The basis of the reservation under Article 15(4) and 16(4) of the Constitution is to prove additional protection to the members of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes as a class of persons who belong to backward classes.
“In order to determine whether a particular caste or tribe would come within the meaning of Articles 341 and 342 respectively for the purpose of reservation under Article 15(4) and 16(4), the Presidential order will have to be looked into. Once a Presidential order has been issued, the President has no power to vary it by any subsequent notification.”
The court further added that it is not a case where the children or grandchildren of “inter-caste married couple” of whom, one songs to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribes, claim to be members of such caste or tribe for the purpose of availing the privileges, protection, concessions or special rights applicable to members of the Scheduled Caste.
The court noted since the petitioner was born in a Hindu-Kuravan caste, there is no point of rejecting her application on the ground that she had married a man belonging to Christianity. The court also referred to the Sunita Singh Vs State of Uttar Pradesh and others, 2018 latest Caselaw 24 SC where the top court said that the caste or community of a person is to be decided on the basis of her/his birth in the said community.