The court directed the SC/ST Department to consider a community certificate application expeditiously, emphasizing adherence to procedures and the importance of ancestral evidence.

JUDGMENT

Dated this the 23^rd day of March, 2026 The writ petition has been filed seeking a direction to the SC/ST Department to consider the application expeditiously and to issue a community certificate declaring the petitioner eligible for a Scheduled Caste certificate, as the petitioner belongs to the Ayyanavar community.

2. It is the case of the petitioner that he is the son of Alakiri Swami and Lakshmi. The petitioner’s father belongs to the Hindu Boyan (OBC) community, and his mother belongs to the Ayyanavar community. In 2015, the petitioner sought a Scheduled Caste (Ayyanavar) community certificate through the Kerala Chief Minister’s Mass Contact Programme, Janasamparkam–2015. The 3^rd respondent, vide letter dated 20.05.2015, informed the 2^nd respondent, the District Collector, that as the petitioner had reverted to Hinduism from Christianity and thereafter applied for a caste certificate, the same could not be issued to him.

3. In response thereto, the 2^nd respondent, vide letter dated 14.10.2015, after consideration of Ext.P1, informed the petitioner that a community certificate could be issued to him only upon submission of evidence showing that his ancestors had migrated to Kerala before 1950. In this regard, the petitioner approached the 3^rd respondent on 04.11.2015 and submitted relevant documents to substantiate his claim that his parents had migrated to Kerala from Tamil Nadu before 1950 and requested the 3^rd respondent to issue a Scheduled Caste (Ayyanavar) certificate to him.

4. However, the 3^rd respondent, vide letter dated

08.12.2015, informed the petitioner that it had been found that the petitioner’s father had converted to Christianity. Later, the 3^rd respondent informed the petitioner that he was not eligible for a Scheduled Caste (Ayyanavar) certificate, as the same could not be issued to a person born as a Christian. In these circumstances, the petitioner again approached the 3^rd respondent by submitting an application dated 07.02.2016 stating that he had been brought up in accordance with the rites and customs of Hinduism and had not practised Christianity. The 3^rd respondent, vide Ext.P4 letter dated 22.12.2016, informed the petitioner that the 4^th respondent had stated that a conclusive determination of whether the petitioner’s parents had migrated to Kerala before 1950 was not possible on the basis of the records submitted by the petitioner.

5. Moreover, upon perusal of extracts from the school admission register submitted by the petitioner, it was observed that the petitioner’s caste had been entered as “Christian converted from Ayyanavar.” The petitioner explained to the 3^rd respondent that this entry had been made without the knowledge of his parents. Thereafter, the 4^th respondent conducted an investigation and submitted Ext.P5 letter dated 20.03.2018 to the 3^rd respondent, wherein speci were entered and read as follows (a) The father of the petitioner is Alakiri Swamy and belongs to Boyan community.

(b) The mother of the petitioner is Lakshmi. Nothing could be ascertained about the parents of Lakshmi or to which community she belongs.

(c)The paternal grandfather of the petitioner is Shreerangaboyan and he moved to Kerala from Tamil Nadu in the 1940s.

(d) The petitioner and his family were living in accordance with the Hindu religious customs and practices.

In light of such findings, the 3rd respondent dismissed the petitioner’s application by Ext.P6 order dated 20.03.2018, stating that, on the basis of the anthropological studies conducted, the petitioner was not eligible for a Hindu Ayyanavar Scheduled Caste certificate and was entitled only to a Hindu Boyan community certificate. Being aggrieved by Ext.P6, the petitioner approached the 2^nd respondent by against the decision of the 3^rd re