Declaring the person not member of schedule tribe not justified.

1. Aggrieved by the proceedings of the Second respondent dated 15. 86, the petitioner has approached this court for quashing the same on various grounds.

2. The case of the petitioner is briefly stated hereunder:-He is a permanent resident of Padalayar Kulam Village, Nanguneri Taluk of Tirunelveli District. He belongs to Sholaga community. In the year 1975, he applied for the post of Trainee Technician in the Telephone Department and on 24. 75 he was appointed as a Trainee Technician. On 24. 76 he was appointed as a Technician in the Department of Telephones, Pattukottai. He had submitted a certificate given by the Tahsildar, Nanguneri dated

26. 7.7 4 to the effect that he belongs to Hindu Sholaga community which is recognised as a Scheduled Tribe. It is stated that while he was working as Transmission Assistant in the Telephone Exchange, Kovilpatti, due to some petitions given against him, the genuineness of the community certificate produced by him was referred by the Divisional Engineer (Telegraphs) Tuticorin to the Collector, Tirunelveli for field verification. Pursuant to the said reference an enquiry was conducted by the Sub-Collector, Cheranmahadevi, the third respondent herein. He appeared before the third respondent and produced his S.S.L.C. book to show that he belongs to Sholaga community. He also produced a certificate issued to his father by the Headmaster of T.D.T.A. Schools, Dhonavur Circle dated 210. 1954 which also shows that his grandfathers name was Shanmugam Sholaga. Apart from this, he also produced the community certificate issued by the Tahsildar. He also produced two sale deeds executed in the year 1981 and 1985 in favour of his father wherein also the term sholaga appears. The enquiry was completed in the year 1985 itself. But the order passed thereon by the third respondent was not communicated to him. However, he received a chargesheet dated 21. 90 issued by the Divisional Engineer, Telecommunications, Government of India, Tuticorin, wherein it is stated that he had furnished false information and suppressed factual information in the application for recruitment to the post of Technician. The order of the second respondent dated 15. 1986 stating that he does not belong to Sholaga community has been communicated to him for the first time only along with the charge memo dated 290. In such circumstances, having no other remedy, he has approached this court by way of the present writ petition.

.3. On behalf of the respondent, first respondent has filed a counter affidavit disputing various averments made by the petitioner. It is stated that the petitioner had applied for a community certificate in the year 1974 and the then Tahsildar, Nanguneri had issued a certificate on 27. 74 to the effect that the petitioner belongs to "Sholaga community" which is recognised as a Scheduled Tribe, based on this, he was appointed as a Trainee Technician in Telephones Department. Subsequently the Divisional Engineer, Telegraphs Tuticorin, had requested the Collector, Tirunelveli, to intimate the actual community of the petitioner. The then Sub Collector, Cheranmahadevi had conducted a detailed enquiry and submitted a report dated 14. 86 to the Collector, Tirunelveli, stating that the petitioner does not belong to sholaga community but belongs to "Sholagar" community, which is classified as Most Backward. Based on this, the fact was intimated to the Divisional Engineer, Telegraphs, Tuticorin in Tirunelveli District Revenue Officers R.Dis. 122400 of 1985 dated 186. It is further stated that the records produced by the petitioner before the Sub Collector was considered and found the particulars produced by him are not genuine. It is further stated that the community certificate issued by the Tahsildar, Nanguneri is not based on any valid and acceptable evidence. Hence it has to be ignored in to as a void certificate and needs no specific cancellation by the competent authority. With these averments, first