Verification of eligibility for community certificates requires evidence of residence before a specified date; prior issuance to relatives does not guarantee new certificates without proper inquiry.

ORDER :

(S.M. SUBRAMANIAM, J.)

The writ petition has been instituted challenging the orders of the original authority and the appellate authority, rejecting the application submitted by the petitioner seeking community certificate that he belongs to Hindu-Adi-Dravidar Scheduled Caste.

2. The petitioner is aged about 32 years. He filed an application before the Tahsildar-cum-Executive Magistrate, Karaikal through online for issuance of community certificate. The Tahsildar, during the course of enquiry, found that the writ petitioner and his family migrated from another State (Tamil Nadu) and do not possess any evidence to prove their residential status at Kottucherry Village, Puducherry prior to 05.03.1964. The Tahsildar, however, considered that the petitioner's father was issued a caste certificate vide Constitution (Puducherry) Scheduled Caste Order, 1964, but now the Village Administrative Officer and Revenue Inspector reported that the petitioner originally belongs to native of Tamil Nadu. Accordingly, the application was rejected.

3. The petitioner preferred appeal before the Deputy Collector (Revenue), who in turn also independently considered the details along with the documents produced by the writ petitioner. The appellate authority, considering the enquiry conducted by the Tahsildar with the residents of neighbourhood, noted that the writ petitioner's grandfather late Thiru.Arumugam was not a native of Karaikal District, but from Tamil Nadu. Thereafter, late Thiru.Arumugam had shifted to Karaikal District to live along with his relatives. The petitioner would be eligible for issue of caste certificate as Hindu-Adi-Dravidar if there was proof of residence before 05.03.1964. Since the writ petitioner has not produced any proof, the appeal was rejected.

4. The learned counsel for petitioner would submit that caste certificate was issued to the father of the petitioner based on the Presidential notification of the year 1964. Since the father of the petitioner has been issued with caste certificate stating that he belongs to Hindu-Adi-Dravidar community, a similar certificate is to be issued to the petitioner, who is his son.

5. The Court cannot form such an opinion as contended by the writ petitioner. The genuinity of certificate issued to the father of the petitioner also to be enquired into. The father of the petitioner was issued with the caste certificate on 14.01.1992 more than three decades back. In those days, there was no strict procedures to verify the origin, nativity etc. On account of huge unemployment and persons are changing the residences for availing the benefits of reservation, the Government of Puducherry has issued various guidelines, particularly noting the fact that many community certificates, nativity certificates are issued to ineligible candidates affecting the rights of the eligible candidates to avail the benefits of reservation in public employment.

6. In the changed scenario, the genuinity of community certificates is to be gone into by conducting a detailed enquiry. Merely by producing the caste certificate of the father or grandfather, the authorities presently cannot issue such certificate. More particularly, the Courts cannot issue any direction to issue community certificate merely on the ground that the petitioner has produced the caste certificate of his father. These are all issues to be gone into on merits with reference to the documents and the evidences available on record. The High Court cannot conduct a roving enquiry into the genuinity of the caste of a person and therefore issuing any direction to issue the community certificate stating that the person belongs to Hindu-Adi-Dravidar community is b