The central legal principle established in the judgment is that belonging to a specific community, as specified in the government order for reservation, entitles an individual to claim selection against reserved seats, regardless of any additional religious or social affiliations.

( 1 ) IN this writ petition , in which the petitioner who, was an applicant for admission to Ist year m. B. B. S Course in any one of the Medical Colleges in the state has prayed for issue of a writ of mandamus directing the Selection committee to select him for Ist year M. B. B. S. Course during the academic year 1979-80 the following question arises for consideration:

"whether such of the, persons who be Kuruhina Setty Community, who had become Lingayats are, entitled to the benefit of special provisions made in favour of educationally and socially backward classes according to which 'kuruhina setty' is declared as one of the Backward communities?"

( 2 ) THE State has constituted a, Selection Committee for the purpose of making selection for admission to Ist Year M. B. B. S Course in Government and Private medical Colleges in the, State. 'the selection Committee called for applications from the eligible candidates for admission to Ist year M. B. B. S. Course during , the. academic year 1979-80. The petitioner being eligible for admission to M. B. B. S. Course submitted his application to the Selection Committee. In the application, the petitioner claimed admission as against seats reserved for Backward, communities as per Government order dated on 18-5-1977, on the basis that he belongs to kuruhina setty, Community, which is one of the. Backward Communities, set out in appendix-I to the said Government Order in which, the State Government directed reservation of seats in favour, of Backward Communities, Backward Castes and special Groups to the extent of 20 per cent,20 per cent and 10 percent respectively along with the application, the petitioner has produced a certificate obtained from the prescribed officer to the effect that the petitioner belongs to Kuruhina setty community which is one of the Back Backward Communities as specified in the Government order dated 18-5-1977. The petitioner was called for interview. He was not selected. . The petitioner found that persons who had secured lower marks than him have been selected as against the seats reserved for Backward communities. Hence, he has presented this writ petition complaining discrimination in the matter of selection for admission to Ist Year m. B. B. S Course.

( 3 ) SRI B. B. Mandappa, learned High Court, Government Pleader, submitted that the Selection committee rejected the, claim of the petitioner for selection as against the seat reserved for Back ward Communities on the ground that the petitioner belongs to Lingayat com as disclosed from, the copy of the transfer certificate produced by him along with the application. Therefore, he submitted that as Lingayat communities is not one of the communities specified in the annexure to the Government order dated 18-5-1977, the Selection Committee was right in rejecting the claim of the petitioner.

( 4 ) AS against this, Sri Prasad learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, contended that the petitioner belongs, to Kuruhina Betty Community though, his ancestors had adopted

'veerashaiva or Lingayat in order to substantiate that: the entire Kuruhina Setty Community is a backward community notwithstanding the fact that some of them had become Lingayats, he relied on the report of Karnataka Backward Classes Commission under the Chairmanship of Sri l. G. Havanur on which the Government order is based. The portions of the report on which he relied consists of the evidence given before the commission and the findings and- are found at pages 244, 270, 271, 278 and 279. The relevant portions read as follows:

SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE kuruhina SETTY :

B. V, Ramanna, M. A. L. T. , President, south Coorg Kurubina. Setty Association, Bittangala, viraipet Taluk Ex-District Educational Officer, Mangalom Ex-Vice-Principal, College of. Education, Mangalore. In the district of Coorg. the Kuruhina Setty are planters and, agriculturists but in the remaining are" of the State their. Traditional occupation is silk weaving. The criteria menti

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