HC allows plea of Dalit woman on caste certificate

Madras High Court has pulled up Karaikal revenue department officials for rejecting the application of a Dalit woman for community certificate to her children without holding a full-fledged enquiry.
Passing a rejection order without conducting a detailed enquiry in regard to the issuance of a Caste Certificate itself is a ground to set aside the rejection order passed by the authority concerned, the court held.
Allowing the petition of minor Amarnath represented by his mother S Usha Rani, a division bench comprising Justice M.Jaichandren and Justice M.Venugopal directed Karaikal Tahsildar to conduct a detailed enquiry on receipt of a fresh application and pass a reasoned and speaking order in accordance with law within a period of 12 weeks.

The tahsildar in his December 26, 2011 order had stated that since the woman was living in Puducherry for the past six years, it was unable to ascertain what religion she and her family members were following.
The woman submitted that she belonged to a Scheduled Caste and had married a Christian, who later converted to Hindu religion. Since her husband's family did not accept their marriage, they were residing with her parents in Karikal till six years ago when they moved to Puducherry.
The court held that the rejection order on the ground cited "bristles with legal infirmities and suffers from material irregularities in the eye of Law" and directed her to submit a fresh application.