Conversion does not negate eligibility for benefits designed for economically weaker sections, as long as caste status is renounced.

J U D G M E N T

A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar, J.

The State is in appeal against the judgment dated 1.10.2021 of the learned Single Judge in W.P.(C).No.20883/2021. The brief facts necessary for disposal of the Writ Appeal are as follows:

The writ petitioner was a student who had completed her 10th Standard examination in 2021 and was an aspirant for the 11th Standard in Higher Secondary Schools within the State under the single window admission procedure. It is not in dispute that pursuant to her application, she was offered allotment to the Government VHSS, Njarackal, as evidenced by Ext.P2 allotment letter. In connection with the admission process, as also for availing the benefit of concessional fee, the petitioner was asked to produce a certificate showing that she belonged to the Economically Weaker Section [EWS]. The petitioner's father therefore applied for an EWS certificate before the 4th respondent, which application was forwarded to the 2nd respondent along with the report of the petitioner's father's caste/religion particulars. It would appear that taking note of the fact that the petitioner's father originally belonged to the Scheduled Caste community and had thereafter embraced the Christian religion as a Jehovas Witness about 20 years ago, the 2nd respondent denied the petitioner the EWS certificate. It is the said stand of the 2nd respondent that led the petitioner to approach this Court through the writ petition, wherein, a direction was sought to the respondents to issue an EWS certificate to the petitioner, by quashing the impugned communication of the 2nd respondent denying the same to the petitioner.

2. The learned Single Judge, who considered the matter, found that it was undisputed that the father of the petitioner was born and brought up as a Hindu Pulaya, and that about 20 years back he had converted to a Jehovas Witness and was presently a Christian. Going through the Notification that provided for the reservation/fee concession in respect of economically weaker sections, the learned Judge found that the Notification was made applicable to general category of persons by which term was meant persons not covered under the scheme of reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes and whose family had gross annual income upto Rs.4 lakhs. Finding therefore that the petitioner's father did not come within any of the categories specified in the exclusion clause, the learned Judge found that the stand of the 2nd respondent, as evidenced in Ext.P4 that was impugned in the writ petition, could not be sustained. The learned Judge accordingly proceeded to hold that the petitioner was entitled to an EWS certificate as the annual income of the family was much below Rs.4 lakhs.

3. In the appeal before us, it is the contention of Sri.A.J.

Varghese, the learned Government Pleader that the provisions for reservation under the Kerala State and Subordinate Services Rules [KS & SSR] clearly hold that a person belonging to a Scheduled Caste will not lose the benefit of reservation under the said Rules merely on conversion of his religion. He also points out that if a person belonging to a Scheduled Caste community is permitted to get the benefit of reservation/fee concession applicable to general candidate belonging to the economically weaker section, it would have the effect of depriving genuine/bone fide persons under that category from getting a benefit envisaged for them. It is his further contention that inasmuch as the petitioner's father can still claim the benefit of reservation as applicable to Scheduled Castes, going by the specific provisions in the KS & SSR, he ought not to be permitted to claim the benefit of the admission/fee concession envisaged under the Notification in the instant case.

4. We have heard Sri.A.J. Varghese, t