COMMR K S P INSTRUCTIONS EDUCATION Vs. HANAMANT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE authorities who are functionaries of the State and who are entrusted with power to grant what is known as a Caste certificate, certifying the community to which a person belongs to, are the petitioners in this Writ Petition. The 1st respondent is the person in whose favour such a certificate was sought for and the 2nd respondent to the Writ Petition is the Principal Civil Judge, Junior Division, Jamkhandi.

(2.) THE brief facts leading to the petition are : The 1st respondent had filed Original Suit No. 196/98 before the Principal Civil Judge, (Junior Division), Jamakhandi, for a declaration about his caste that he belongs to a particular community and for consequential mandatory injunction for rectification of the records to this effect. It appears that the 1st respondent's community as indicated in the official records is Hindu Lingayat. The 1st respondent had filed the suit for a declaration that he belongs to Hindu Ganig and for the consequential mandatory injunction to the petitioners who were the defendants in the said suit for rectification of the Register indicating that he belongs to the caste Hindu Ganig. The suit was pending before the Trial Court. The defendants contested the suit and the Trial Court had also framed the issues. However by an order dated 17-11-1999 it appears the Trial Court referred the suit to Lok Adalat for settlement and disposal having purporting to be under the provisions of sections 20 and 21 of the Karnataka Legal Services Authorities Act 1987 (hereinafter referred to as the 'act' ).

(3.) SRI Sreenivasagowda, the learned Government Advocate appearing for the petitioners has contended that the defendants in the first instance had not consented for the transferring of the suit to the Lok Adalat on the terms that there was likelihood of the suit being settled or compromised and he submitted that the suit was being contested and the Trial Court had also framed issues.