IMPORTANT POINT
Cases attaining finality cannot be reopened.

JUDGMENT

T.S. THAKUR, J.

1. Leave granted in Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (Civil) No.24775 of 2013.

2. Common questions of law arise for consideration in these appeals which shall stand disposed of by this common order. But before we formulate the questions that fall for determination the factual matrix in which the same arise need to be summarised for a proper appreciation of the controversy.

3. Respondent-V.K. Mahanudevan in Civil Appeal No.3468 of 2007 applied to Tehsildar, Alathur in the State of Kerala for grant of a Scheduled Caste Certificate on the basis that he was a 'Thandan' which was a notified Scheduled Caste. The Tehsildar held an enquiry and found that the appellant did not belong to the Scheduled Caste community and reported the matter to the Director, Scheduled Caste Development Department, who in turn forwarded the case to Director, Kerala Institute for Research, Training and Development Studies of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, ('KIRTADS 'for short) for investigation and report.

4. Aggrieved by the denial of the certificate the respondent filed O.P.No.9216 of 1986 before the High Court of Kerala which was disposed of by the High Court in terms of its order dated 25th February, 1987 with a direction to the Tehsildar concerned to issue a caste certificate in favour of the said respondent. A certificate was accordingly issued in his favour. It is common ground that the respondent was appointed as an Assistant Executive Engineer under a special recruitment scheme for SC/ST candidates.

5. Long after the certificate had been issued in favour of the respondent and his appointment as an Assistant Executive Engineer in theState service, a Full Bench of the Kerala High Court in Kerala Pattika Jathi Samrekshana Samithy v. State AIR 1995 Ker 337 observed that a large number of applications for change of caste name from 'Thiyya' to 'Thandan' had been received pursuant to The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Act, 1976 and ordered that all such certificates as were corrected on the basis of such applications after 27th July, 1977 ought to be scrutinized by a Scrutiny Committee. The High Court observed:

"...The filing of a large number of applications for correction of the name of caste from Ezhava/Thiyya to Thandan alleging one and the same reason immediately after inclusion of Thandan community as Scheduled Caste in the 1976 order can prima facie be considered only as a concerted attempt on the part of Section of Ezhavas/Thiyyas to take advantage of the benefits of Scheduled Castes as alleged in the counter affidavit of the first respondent and asserted by the petitioner. It cannot be easily believed that if a person was really a Thandan and as such a Scheduled Caste, his caste would have been noted as Ezhava or Thiyya in the school records.

It cannot also be believed easily that in large number of cases for no reason whatsoever the same type of mistake was committed allowed to be on record till Thandan community was included in the list of Scheduled Castes. As such taking a serious view of the entire problem we would hold that in all cases where certificates have been issued on and after 27-7-1977 the date of 1976 order correcting the name of Caste from Ezhava/Thiyya to Thandan and other cases where certificates have been issued changing the Caste into a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe such certificates issued are liable to be declared as of doubtful validly, till they are scrutinised by the scrutiny Committee to be constituted by the first respondent as per the directions we propose to issue in that regard..."

(emphasis supplied)

6. Pursuant to the above directions of the High Court the caste certificate issued in favour of the respondent also came under scrutiny. In the course of scrutiny, it was found that the reports submitted by KIRTADS and relied upon by the High Court while allowing O.P. No.9216 of1986 was erroneous and that the respondent actually belonged to Ezhuva community which