IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE S.SIRI JAGAN WEDNESDAY, THE 3RD SEPTEMBER 2008 / 12TH BHADRA 1930 WP(C).No. 21955 of 2008(L) -------------------------- PETITIONER: ------------ KSHEMA PURUSHU, KSHEMA NIVAS, PUTHARIYADUKKAM,NILESWARAM VIA, KASARGOD. BY ADV. SRI.K.B.PRADEEP RESPONDENTS: ------------- 1. KERALA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY REPRESENTED BY ITS REGISTRAR, VELLAYANI, TRISOOR. 2. THE TAHSILDAR, HOSDURG TALUK, KASARGOD DISTRICT. 3. THE DIRECTOR, KIRTADAS, KOZHIKODE. BY SHRI.REJNITH THAMPAN, SC FOR R1. G.P. SMT.SUDHADEVI THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 03/09/2008, ALONG WITH WPC NO.256682 OF 2008 WPC NO. 25668 OF 2008 THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: W.P(C).No. 21955/08. APPENDIX PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS: P1. COPY OF THE SSLC CERTIFICATE. P2. COPY OF THE GOVT. ORDER DTD.20.6.05. P3. COPY OF THE COMMUNICATION DTD.28.4.08 TO R3. P4. COPY OF THE CERTIFICATE ISSUED BY R2 DTD.23.6.08. P5. COPY OF THE PROVISIONAL RANKLIST BY R1. P6. COPY OF THE REQUEST DTD.14.7.08 BY THE FATHER OF THE PETITIONER. Sdk+ ///True copy/// P.A. to Judge S.SIRI JAGAN, J. ======================= W.P.(C).Nos.21955 & 25668 of 2008 ======================= Dated this the 3rd day of September, 2008 J U D G M E N T These two writ petitions are filed by rival candidates who are competing for admission to B.Sc. (Co-operation and Banking) in the Kerala Agricultural University in a seat reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates. 2. W.P(C).No. 21955/2008 is filed by one candidate who was included as Ezhava candidate in the rank list prepared by the University for the purpose of admission. She filed the writ petition seeking a direction to the Tahsildar to issue to her a community certificate showing her as a member of a Scheduled Caste, in so far as her father was a Hindu-Pulaya and the mother was an Ezhava. In that writ petition, I passed an interim order directing the 2nd respondent to issue a community certificate to the petitioner showing her community as Hindu-Pulaya (SC) within one week from the date of receipt of the order. Pursuant to the same, the petitioner therein appears to have produced the community certificate issued to her, based on which, her claim for admission was considered as a Scheduled Caste candidate and she was given admission. 3. W.P(C).No.25668/2008 was filed by a Scheduled Caste candidate who was included as rank No.2 among the Scheduled 2 Castes in that rank list. She has filed the writ petition complaining that although she was entitled to the second seat reserved for SC, the same had been given to an Ezhava candidate, who is the petitioner in W.P(C).No.21955/2008. It is under the above circumstances, I had directed that these two writ petitions be posted together for hearing. The same come up before me today accordingly. 4. In W.P(C).No.21955/2008 I had directed only to issue a community certificate. Even if she had produced the community certificate issued pursuant thereto, the University could have considered her for admission, only if she had claimed admission as a Scheduled Caste in the application for admission. Therefore, I directed the learned Standing Counsel for the University to produce the application submitted by the petitioner in that writ petition. Today the first page of the application has been produced before me. From the same, it is clear that the petitioner never applied for admission in the reserved seats applicable to Schedule Caste candidates. On the other hand, she claimed only reservation as an Ezhava/OBC candidate. That being so, I do not think that the petitioner in W.P(C).No. 21955/2008 can validly stake a claim as a SC candidate at this point of time. Therefore, the admission granted to the petitioner in W.P(C). 3 No.21955/2008 as Scheduled Caste is clearly irregular. It is also not disputed before me that the petitioner in W.P(C). No.25668/2008 is the second in rank among the Scheduled Caste candidates. It is also not disputed before me that the petitioner in W.P(C).No. 21955/2008 was given admission in the seat available for the second person among the SC candidate in the order of rank. That being so, the petitioner in W.P(C). No.25668/2008 is entitled to admission in that seat. Accordingly, I direct the University to cancel the admission granted to the petitioner in W.P(C).No. 21955/2008 as an SC candidate and to accommodate the petitioner in W.P(C).No. 25668/2008 in that seat. It would be open to the University to consider the claim of the petitioner in W.P(C).No. 21955/2008 as either an Ezhave candidate or as a general merit candidate if the petitioner, in accordance with her merit in the rank list, is entitled to such admission. However, I direct that the community certificate issued pursuant to the interim order need not be cancelled. The writ petitions are disposed of as above. Sd/- sdk+ S.SIRI JAGAN, JUDGE ///True copy/// P.A. to Judge 4