IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE S.SIRI JAGAN THURSDAY, THE 12TH NOVEMBER 2009 / 21ST KARTHIKA 1931 OP.No. 31419 of 2002(M) ----------------------- PETITIONERS: --------------- 1. M.MOHANDAS S/O. M.BANDU NAIK, AGED 62 YEARS, RHYTHM, KUNNUMPURAM ROAD, VELLOZHUKKU, TELLICHERRY. 2. SANGEETHA MOHANDAS, D/O.M.MOHANDAS, AGED 30 OF DO. DO. 3. RAJANI MOHANDAS, AGED 28, D/O. M.MOHANDAS OF DO. DO. BY ADV. MR. M.RAMESH CHANDER SMT. K.A.SANJEETHA RESPONDENTS: --------------- 1. STATE OF KERALA, REP.BY ITS CHIEF SECRETARY TO GOVT.OF KERALA, TRIVANDRUM. 2. SECRETARY, SCHEDULED CASTES AND SCHEDULED TRIBES DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT, TRIVANDRUM. 3. DIRECTOR, SCHEDULED TRIBES DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, VIKAS BHAVAN, TRIVANDRUM. 4. CHAIRMAN, SCRUTINY COMMITTEE FOR VERIFICATION OF SCHEDULED CASTE/SCHEDULED TRIBE CLAIMS, SECRETARIAT, TRIVANDRUM. 5. DIRECTOR, KARTHADS, CALICUT. R1 TO R4 BY GOVERNMENT PLEADER MR. P.SANTHOSH KUMAR THIS ORIGINAL PETITION HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 12/11/2009, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: OP.No. 31419 of 2002(M) APPENDIX PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS: P1: COPY OF THE COMMUNITY CERTIFICATE ISSUED TO THE 1ST PETITIONER. P2: COPY OF THE TRANSFER CERTIFICATE ISSUED TO THE 1ST PETITIONER. P3: COPY OF THE REPLY GIVEN BY THE FIRST PETITIONER TO SHOW CAUSE NOTICE DATED 04.12.1999. P4: COPY OF THE SHOW CAUSE NOTICE DATED 11.05.2002. P5: COPY OF THE REPLY DATED 30.05.2002 TO EXT.P4. P6: COPY OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE DATED 24.09.2002. P7: COPY OF THE REPORT OF THE VIGILANCE OFFICER OF KIRTHADS. RESPONDENTS' EXHIBITS: R2(a): REPORT NO. VIG.2013/96 DATED 28.01.2001. // TRUE COPY // P.A. TO JUDGE kkms/ S. SIRI JAGAN, J. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = == = = = = = = O.P. No. 31419 OF 2002 = = = = = = = = = = = = = == = = = = = = = Dated this the 12th day of November 2009. JUDGMENT The petitioners are father and daughters. They claim to belong to the Hindu ‘Marati’ community which community is recognized as a Scheduled Tribe under the presidential order. According to the petitioners, Ext.P1 community certificate issued to the 1st petitioner on 25.11.1961 shows his community as 'Marati'. Ext.P2 transfer certificate from his school also gives his community as 'Marati'. However, by Ext.P4 show cause notice dated 11.05.2002, the 1st petitioner was directed to show cause why his claim as a member of the Scheduled Tribe Marati community should not be refused by the Scrutiny Committee appointed for verification of SC/ST claims and why his SC/ST certificates wrongfully secured by him should not be confiscated. The petitioner was also directed to show cause why further action should not be taken against him and members of his family on that basis. The 1st petitioner filed Ext.P5 reply stating that, he belongs to the Marati community which is a Scheduled Tribe and therefore no action can be initiated against him. The O.P. No. 31419 OF 2002 2 matter was referred to the KIRTADS and they submitted Ext.P7 report, in which the KIRTADS concluded that the first petitioner does not belong to the Marati community, but belongs to the Chaptekar community which is not a Scheduled Tribe. KIRTADS therefore recommended appropriate action against the petitioner and his family members accordingly. The matter was placed before the Scrutiny Committee, who accepted the report after hearing the petitioners and by Ext.P6, recommended to the Government that the benefits enjoyed by the petitioners as Scheduled Tribes should be cancelled and the concerned revenue authorities should be instructed not to issue any community certificate to them certifying them as belonging to the Scheduled Tribe 'Marati'. It was also recommended to the Registrar of the University of Calicut to take urgent action to cancel the MBBS Degree Certificate issued to the second petitioner and to cancel the Post Graduate Degree Certificate secured by the third petitioner by securing admission claiming to be members of a Scheduled Tribe community. Petitioners challenge Exts.P6 and P7 orders. O.P. No. 31419 OF 2002 3 2. Petitioners' claim that the petitioners actually belong to the Marati community and Exts. P4, P6 and P7 are passed in violation of principles of natural justice. The contention is that petitioners were not given sufficient opportunity to adduce evidence in support of their contentions and to examine witnesses cited by them. 3. A Counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of the respondents supporting Exts. P6 and P7. 4. I have considered the rival contentions in detail. As far as the contentions regarding the violation of principles of natural justice are concerned, petitioners have not produced any acceptable material before me that they were denied opportunity to adduce evidence or examine witnesses. Therefore I am unable to countenance that contention. 5. I have gone through Ext.P7 report of the KIRTADS. In the same, the genealogy of the family of the petitioners have been scrupulously detailed. Therein it is stated that the first petitioner’s paternal grandfather belonged to the 'Chaptekar' community and his paternal grandmother also belonged to that O.P. No. 31419 OF 2002 4 community. The first petitioner’s mother is stated to have belonged to Chapteker community of South Canara. It is also stated that the petitioner’s father also belong to Chaptekar community. The first petitioner's parents have three children, the first petitioner and his two sisters. The first petitioner’s sister Anasooya Bai studied at the S.A.T.L.P. School, Manjeshwar in Kasaragod District. The KIRTADS have obtained an extract from the register of admissions maintained in that school wherein the caste name of the first petitioner’s sister is shown as 'Hindu-Chaptekar'. Similar is the case of the first petitioner's younger sister Seetha Bai. Register of admissions maintained in the same school shows her caste name as 'Hindu-Chaptekar'. Both of them are married to persons belonging to 'Rajpuri' community and their children goes by the community name 'Hindu-Brahmin'. The first petitioner married Sumana Bai, who hails from North Canara and belongs to 'Rajpuri' community. She was the younger sister of the 1st petitioner's sister's husband. Her caste name is shown as 'Rajpuri' in the register of Births maintained in the Municipality of Uduppi in the Karnataka O.P. No. 31419 OF 2002 5 State. From the above evidence, the KIRTADS came to the conclusion that the petitioners belong to the Hindu Chaptekar community which is not a scheduled tribe. It is on that basis Ext.P6 order was issued by the Scrutiny Committee. The petitioner could not provide any shred of evidence to dispute these findings in Exts.P6 and P7. The only defence taken by the petitioners is that the father of the first petitioner was an illiterate person and he may have wrongly given the caste name of the first petitioner's sisters in the school records. It is hardly believable. As such, the evidence available is overwhelmingly against the petitioners' case. I am satisfied that on such evidence the only conclusion the respondents could reach is that the petitioners belong to the Hindu 'Chaptekar' community. In the above circumstances, I do not find any merit in the challenge against Exts. P6 and P7 and accordingly, the Original Petition is dismissed. (S. SIRI JAGAN) JUDGE kkms/