P A HARIDASAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner P. A. Haridasan, is a member of the Subordinate Judicial Service of the Kerala State. He entered into the judicial service as Judicial Magistrate of Second Class and now he is working as Judicial First Class Magistrate. The controversy in this case is regarding the caste to which the petitioner belongs. While the petitioner claims that he belongs to Thandan Community, respondents 1 and 2 are taking the view that he belongs to Thiyya Community. The Thandan Community was declared to be a Scheduled Caste so fat as the Travancore - Cochin area is concerned from 1950 onwards. But it was extended to the whole of Kerala only by Act 108 of 1976. The entire controversy arose because petitioner's caste in the High School Certificate was originally described as Thiyya but after the coming into force of Act 108 of 1976, petitioner got it corrected and changed it to Thandan. It was after this petitioner applied for the post of Magistrate under the General Recruitment as well as the Special Recruitment for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It appears that in both the categories petitioner came first, but because of the fact that he has crossed the maximum age for general category, he was appointed in the quota reserved for Scheduled Castes. Even when he was selected for appointment, there was a controversy whether he belongs to Scheduled Caste or not. At the instance of the Public Service Commission, the Government referred the matter to District Collector, Palakkad and the District Collector called for a report from the Assistant Collector regarding the caste status of the petitioner and the Assistant Collector by his report dated 8th February 1982 came to the conclusion that petitioner belonged to Community Thandan other than Ezhava or Thiyya. He also relied on the fact that father and grandfather of the petitioner belonged to Thandan Community and that it can be seen from the endorsement made on certain documents which came into existence even prior to the birth of the petitioner. Not satisfied with this report, another report was called for and the Assistant Collector made further enquires and gave a report dated 6th March 1982. According to this report, the Assistant Collector was fully satisfied that P. A. Haridasan, the petitioner herein belongs to Thandan Community. After these reports of the Assistant Collector produced as Exts. P1 and P2, petitioner was recruited to the Judicial Service.

(2.) There has been a continuous complaint that many persons belonging to Ezhava/Thiyya Community in Palakkad Region were being issued certificates showing them as Thandans. According to the allegations, these certificates were issued without any basis. The resultant position was that many posts to which members of Scheduled Castes were entitled were snatched away by persons belonging to other communities posting themselves to be Scheduled Castes. The question arose whether a person belonging to the Thandan Community in the Malabar region should be denied the benefit of status of belonging to Scheduled Caste merely because there are doubts that they had close relationship with Thiyyas and Ezhavas. The matter went to the Supreme Court and the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the decision reported in Palghat J. T. S. S. Samithi v. State of Kerala 1994 (1) KLT 118 had occasion to consider this aspect. In the above decision, the Hon'ble Supreme Court held as follows:

(3.) As already stated there was a dissatisfaction among the members of the Thandan Community of the Travancore - Cochin area that the benefits due to them were being snatched away by persons who do not actually belong to that caste in the Palghat area and that number of certificates have been issued to persons describing them as Thandan Community when actually they were belonging to Thiyya or Ezhava Communities. It was in that background, an Original Petition was filed before this Court as O.P.No. 6758 of 1987 filed by the Kerala Pattikajathi Samrakshana Samithi. The challenge in the Original Petition was inter alia directed against the orders issued by the Government providing for the mode by which caste certificates were to be issued and the corrections in the entries in the S.S.L.C. Book regarding the community were to be effected. The order passed by the Joint Commissioner of Government Examinations relating to the correction of the entry in the S.S.L.C, Book of the petitioner was produced in that Original Petition and marked as Ext. P1. The said order was also challenged. According to the petitioners in O.P. No. 6758 of 1997 the present petitioner did not belong to the community called Thandan and belonged to the community of Thiyya or Ezhava which is listed as backward class; and that the petitioner had caused his community to be corrected in his S.S.L.C. Book as Thandan in pursuance of the order marked as Ext. P1 (in O.P. 6758/97), and that therefore the petitioner had purportedly snatched away the benefit which otherwise would have accrued to a member of the Scheduled Caste. In that Original Petition, petitioner was the 8th respondent. That Original Petition Was ultimately disposed of by a Full Bench by Judgment dated 14th March 1995. The above Judgment is reported in ILR 1995 (3) Ker. 1 . The Full Bench directed that the petitioners claim regarding the caste and the correction made in the S.S.L.C. Book pursuant to the order marked as Ext. P1 in O.P. 6758/87 is to be looked into by a Scrutiny Committee constituted in terms of the Judgment of the Supreme Court in Kumari Madhuri Patil and another v. Additional Commissioner, Tribal Development and others 1994 (6) SCC 241 . At the time when the Full Bench disposed of O.P. No. 6758/87, the Government was yet to constitute a scrutiny committee in pursuance of the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Madhuri Patil's case 1994 (6) SCC 241. Subsequently, Government issued G.O.P. No. 16/95/S.C.S.T.D.D., dated 8th May 1995 constituting a scrutiny committee in compliance of the directions issued by the Supreme Court. According to the petitioner, the constitution of the scrutiny committee was not strictly in accordance with the directions given by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. Subsequent to the Judgment of the Full Bench, the scrutiny committee investigated the matter and gave a report to the Government. On the basis of the report of the scrutiny committee, the Government decided to prosecute P. A. Haridasan, for making false claim as to the caste status to deprive the members of the Scheduled Castes of their benefits, thereby exploiting them for unlawful gains. A copy of this order is produced as Ext. P101. This order was passed pursuant to the report of the scrutiny committee which is produced as Ext. P100. Thereafter, petitioner received a notice dated 10th September 1997 from the Registrar, High Court of Kerala to show cause why his appointment should not be cancelled in view of the report of the Scrutiny Committee. The petitioner contended that earlier entries in the S.S.L.C. Book were entered out of a mistake or error. He also produced documents showing that petitioner's father and forefather belong to Thandan Community. The Full Bench did not go into the question whether the petitioner belongs to Scheduled Caste or not. Instead of that, the Full Bench directed the State Government to constitute a scrutiny committee and deal with the case of the present petitioner in accordance with law. After the decision of the Full Bench, the scrutiny committee after taking evidence filed the report, Ext. P100 to the Government holding that petitioner does not belong to Thandan Community and thereafter, the Government issued the order Ext. P101, declaring that the petitioner does not belong to Scheduled Caste Community. Subsequently, the Registrar issued Ext. P102 notice to show cause as to why petitioner's service should not be terminated. It was at this stage, petitioner filed this Original Petition and obtained a stay of termination of service of the petitioner. Before the scrutiny committee, the petitioner had produced large number of documents. These documents vary from registered documents, certificates, admission registers, etc., and also certified court orders. The scrutiny committee considered these documents but was of the view that petitioner did not belong to Thandan Community, but belonged to Thiyya Community. This report was accepted by the Government and passed Ext. P101 order.