The main legal point established in the judgment is that the absence of evidence of fraud in obtaining a false community certificate may result in the disbursement of retirement benefits to the petitioner, while denying any future benefits based on the false certificate.

[WP(C) 22501/2009, WP(C).18515/2011]

The question that arises for consideration in these cases relates to the caste status of the first petitioner in W.P.(C) No. 22501 of 2009 who is the sole petitioner in the second writ petition also. The second and third petitioners in W.P.(C) No. 22501 of 2009 are the daughter and son respectively of the first petitioner. According to the petitioners, they belong to the Boyan community which is included in the list of Scheduled Castes as item No. 13 in the First Schedule of the Constitution. It is contended that, the Boyan community consists of persons who were mainly engaged in the work of digging wells and canals and other earth works. Placing reliance on a Book titled 'Castes and Tribes of Southern India', it is contended that Boyan is also referred to as 'Odde' as evident from the extracted portion of the book produced as Ext.P1. 'Oddes' are described as tank-diggers, well-diggers and road makers who live in detached settlements, the 'Odde Huts''. According to the petitioners, their forefathers were engaged in all types of earth works and were referred to as 'Mannu Oddes'. They were nomadic people who used to establish settlements wherever they could find sufficient work of deepening wells, repairing tanks etc. They used to eat all types of food including pork, field rats etc and used to consume liquor. The forefathers of the petitioner are alleged to have been brought from Madhura to Kerala by the Thirumala Nayakan for digging wells and for earth works. Therefore, the identity of Nayakan also got attached to them. As a result, they used to be referred to as Nayakan/Naickan. The first petitioner used to reside in Azhakathu Koodaram. According to him, the huts where boyans reside are known as 'Koodaram'.

2. It is the case of the first petitioner that, in Kodakara, when he was in his teens, there was another hamlet of the Boyan community, namely 'Karivanoor Koodaram'. One Shri. M.P. Rajan was residing in Karivanoor Koodaram. Both the first petitioner and M.P. Rajan were studying in Christ College, Irinjalakuda. Shri. M.P. Rajan, who was living in similar conditions, was treated as Boyan and Scheduled Caste status was conferred on him. However, the first petitioner was considered to be a person belonging to other backward communities ('OBC' for short). This was for the reason that his community had been wrongly mentioned as Hindu-Naickan. Ext.P3 is the extract of the Register of Admissions maintained at the Government LP School, Kodakara showing the caste status of the first petitioner. The petitioner contends that, his caste name had been given wrongly because of the illiteracy and ignorance of his father. Subsequently, when he was in the College, he appears to have taken steps by preferring an application to the Government to correct the entry regarding his caste in Ext.P3. The Government directed the Tahsildar, Mukundapuram to issue a proper community certificate to the first petitioner. It is contended that the Tahsildar had conducted an enquiry by himself as well as through the Village Officer and convinced himself that the first petitioner belonged to the Boyan, a Scheduled Caste community. Accordingly, a Community Certificate is said to have been issued to him, which was incorporated in his SSLC Book. Thereafter, he was being treated as the member of a Schedule Caste and was being extended all the benefits available to the member of a Scheduled Caste.

3. While so, the second petitioner who is the daughter of the first petitioner appeared for the Entrance Examination for admission to a medical course. Though she was successful at the Entrance Examination, the Controller of Entrance Examinations refused to permit her to participate in the interview for the reason that the Tahsildar, Taluk Office, Thiruvananthapuram refused to issue a Caste Certificate showing her caste status as Boyan. Thereupon, she filed O.P. No.11155 of 1996 before this Court challenging the said action. Th