IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN THURSDAY, THE 7^TH DAY OF MARCH 2024 / 17TH PHALGUNA, 1945 WP(C) NO. 2007 OF 2021 PETITIONER:

VINITHA MONTEIRO AGED 25 YEARS D/O. GREGORY MONTEIRO, VELANKANNI NILAYAM,MADHUR ROAD, RAMDAS NAGAR, KASARGOD-671 124.

BY ADV R.KRISHNAKUMAR (CHERTHALA)

RESPONDENTS:

1 STATE OF KERALA REPRESENTED BY ITS CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT, SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 001.

2 SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT BACKWARD COMMUNITIES DEVELOPMENT (B) DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 001.

3 DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION OFFICE OF THE DDE, CIVIL STATION, VIDYA NAGAR P.O., KASARGODE-671 123.

4 TAHASILDHAR KASARAGOD, TALUK OFFICE, NEAR MALLIKARJUNA TEMPLE, KASARGODE-671 121.

5 VILLAGE OFFICER KUDLU, VILLAGE OFFICE, KUDLU P.O., KASARGODE DISTRICT-671

124.

BY ADV GOVERNMENT PLEADER SRI. P.S.APPU, GP THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON

07.03.2024, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:

JUDGMENT The petitioner claims to be a member of the ‘Latin Catholic Community’ of the Christian faith and has produced Ext.P1 – her Secondary School Leaving Certificate, in substantiation. She says that, however, when she applied for higher education and responded to a notification for Diploma in Elementary Education, issued by the competent Authority, it was incumbent upon her to have produced a community certificate, for which, she approached the 4^th respondent – Tahsildar, which Authority, however, without any tenable reason, issued Ext.P3, certifying her to be a ‘Roman Catholic’.

2. The petitioner says that, she has, therefore, been left without any other option, but to approach this Court, seeking that Ext.P3 be quashed and that she be granted the benefit of a Community Certificate, showing her correctly to be part of the Roman Catholic Community.

3. Before I move forward, I must record that noticing the submissions of the petitioner as made by her learned counsel – Sri.R.Krishnakumar, this Court issued an interim order on 27.01.2021 in the following terms:

“Admit.

Learned Government Pleader takes notice for the respondents.

There shall be a direction to respondents 4 and 5 to issue the certificate showing the community of the petitioner as Latin Catholic Community and also to issue non creamy layer certificate in case the petitioner comes within the income limit within a period of one week. This shall be purely provisional and subject to further orders.”

4. Thereafter, by the order dated

11.02.2022, the petitioner was permitted to appear for the final examination of the course, however, provisionally and subject to the result of this writ petition.

5. Today, Sri.R.Krishnakumar – learned counsel for the petitioner, submits that his client has completed her course and is now awaiting final mark list and certificate, which has been withheld on account of the pendency of this writ petition.

6. The learned Government Pleader –

Sri.P.S.Appu, submitted that the grant of Community status to an individual is governed by various Government Orders and particular Ext.R1(c). He submitted that, as is evident therefrom, it is only a person who has converted as a ‘Latin Catholic’ before 1947, who would be entitled to a certification to such effect and not others; but conceded that, for assessing such factum, even the certificate of the Ecclesiastical Heads can be used as supporting material. He argued that, however, when enquiry was conducted by the Tahsildar, it is revealed that the petitioner does not really belong to the Latin Catholic Community; but only to the Roman Catholic Community and it is, therefore, that Ext.P3 records such. He thus prayed that this writ petition be dismissed.

7. I notice from the pleadings on record that the 2^nd respondent, in fact, has filed a counter affidavit, wherein, there is not even a whisper as to how the Authority entered into a conclusion that the petitioner belongs to ‘Roman Catholic Community’. The averments in the