C K BINDU Vs. COMMISSIONER OF ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The question that is posed for consideration in these cases is whether an applicant who belongs to SC/ST community would loose admission due to the omission to mention the caste's name in the community certificate issued by the Tahsildar which is regulated by the Kerala (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Regulation of Issue of Community Certificate Act, 1996.

(2.) Director of Ayurveda Medical Education invited applications for the Postgraduate degree course in various specialities in Ayurveda for the year 2004-2005. Selection of candidates and allotment to various specialities are made from the list published by the Commissioner for Entrance Examination conducted on all India basis. Out of 77 seats as per the prospectus, seven seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe candidates subject to maximum one seat in a subject. Out of the seven seats reserved for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe from the State of Kerala six seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates and one seat for Scheduled Tribe candidate. Persons with higher ranks will have to exhaust their choice before persons in the lower ranks are considered. The choice of subject and college will be according to the rank. Clause 3 of the prospectus deals with eligibility for admission, which is extracted below for easy reference.

(3.) The prospectus refers to prescribed form of application for admission. Form has got separate application number and roll number. Column 6 of the application form deals with communal reservation wherein applicant has to state whether he/she belongs to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe. Application form also refers to prescribed form for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe community to furnish community certificate. Issue of community certificates to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe is regulated by Act II of Kerala (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Regulation of Issue of Community Certificate Act, 1996. Instruction (4) contained in the Instructions to fill in the application form reads as follows: