Manjula Chellur, J.

1. The Writ Appeal is filed challenging the judgment of the learned Single Judge in setting aside Exhibit P-4 order of the Kerala Lok Ayukta for want of jurisdiction. The brief facts that led to filing of the present appeal are as under. The appellant herein is the child of an inter-caste marriage, where father belongs to Hindu Ezhava and mother belongs to Latin Christian. According to the appellant, her mother converted to Hinduism and became a Hindu-Sambavar, a Scheduled Caste Community.

2. According to the appellant, her mother sought for Caste Certificate for the appellant on 8-10-2003 claiming that she belongs to Hindu-Sambavar Community. The same came to be rejected by the first respondent Tahsildar alleging that the appellant is born to a couple of inter-caste marriage. Apparently, the mother of the appellant is the child of a Christian parents as her name was Jalaja P. Martin. Admittedly, she converted to Hindu-Sambavar by conversion in the year 1988. When the first respondent Tahsildar refused the Caste Certificate, the mother of the appellant approached Lok Ayukta and Lok Ayukta passed an order dated 29-8-2005 directing to issue a Scheduled Caste Certificate to the appellant's mother. After the same was rejected by Government Order, again the mother of the appellant applied for a certificate for her daughter. It was also rejected by order dated 20-6-2005. When the appellant's mother approached Lok Ayukta and got an order for issuing certificate indicating that they belong to Scheduled Caste Sambava Community, W.P. (C) Nos. 14956 of 2007 and 13930 of 2008 came to be filed before this Court by the State.

3. During the pendency of the Writ Petitions, a new Government Order dated 20-11-2008 came to be passed modifying the earlier order dated 20-6-2005. The two Writ Petitions came to be withdrawn by the Tahsildar on the ground that as per the new Government Order, assistance of KIRTADS was necessary. Subsequently, KIRTADS conducted a detailed enquiry of the caste status of the appellant in the light of the conditions specified in the Government Order of 2008. The appellant when again applied for Scheduled Caste Certificate on 27-10-2010, the Tahsildar concerned rejected the claim on 2-11-2010 on the report of the Village Officer, Kudappanakunnu and clarification from KIRTADS. Aggrieved by the same, the appellant herein approached Lok Ayukta who passed the order at Exhibit P-4 and the same came to be challenged before the learned Single Judge by the State.

4. According to the writ petitioner State, as the appellant was admittedly an offspring of inter-caste marriage as her father belongs to Ezhava Caste, which falls within Other Backward Classes and mother belongs to Christian-Sambavar Community, which also comes in Other Backward Classes and the mother having underwent re-conversion into Hindu-Sambavar on 26-8-1988, the appellant was not entitled to claim as a member of Scheduled Caste Hindu-Sambavar Community, as she was not a child of a Scheduled Caste parents. It was also contended that as per Section 5 of the Act 11 of 1996, i.e., the Kerala (Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes) Regulation of Issue of Community Certificates Act, 1996 (for short, 'the SC/ST Act'), the competent authority alone has to issue caste certificate after due enquiry. As appeal is provided under the very same Act to the next higher authority under the Act, the appellant was not required to approach the Lok Ayukta, but the Lok Ayukta passed Exhibit P-4 exceeding its jurisdiction. On facts also, according to the respondent-writ petitioner, as the appellant was found to be not born to a Scheduled Caste parents as per the enquiry, there was justification in rejection of the application. They also rely upon Section 25 of the Act to contend that Lok Ayukta did not have jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

5. As against this, the appellant contended that the Writ Petition was not at all maintainable, as none of the contention