KOTHAPALLI NARASAYYA Vs. JAMMANA JOGI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The substantial question which falls for determination in this Election Petition filed by one of the defeated candidates Kotapally Narasaiah, is whether the 1st respondent, Jammana Jogi, the returned candidate, belonged to a Scheduled Caste within the meaning of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 made by the President of India in cxerci e of his powers under Clause (1) of Article 341 of the Constitution of India, to be qualified to be chosen to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from the Palakonda Assembly Constituency reserved for Scheduled Castes.

(2.) In the recent general elections to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly the petitioner, a Mala by caste, was one of the three contesting candidates from Palakonda Assembly Constituency reserved for Scheduled Castes, the two other validly nominated contesting candidates being the 1st respondent and the 2nd respondent. The petitioner at the time of scrutiny raised objection in relation to the nomination paper of the 1st respondent on the ground that the 1st respondent did not belong to any of the Scheduled Castes within the meaning of the President's Order of 1950 as he was a Christian born to Christian parents.

(3.) The Returning Officer overruled this objection in view of the certificate of Suddhi Sangham showing reconversion of the 1st respondent and his wife to Hinduism and another certificate given by the Tahsildar, Parvatipuram, besides the 1st respondent's own declaration published in the Gazette dated 15th September, 1965 and the Government notification and letters. In the contest that ensued, the 1st respondent secured 17,184 votes as against 15,289 votes and 6,850 votes polled respectively by the petitioner and the and respondent and was declared elected having polled the highest number of votes. The petitioner calls in question the election of the 1st respondent on the ground that on the date of the election he was not qualified to be chosen to fill the seat of the Legislative Asscmbly reserved for Scheduled Castes as he did not belong to any of such castes. His contention is that not only his parents at the time he was born were and have been ever since Christians but also his sisters were baptised, brought up, educated and married and were being treated as Christians. All the family members according to their own profession of religion as well as their outlook were Christians. The 1st respondent was born in 1936, was baptised, educated and lived ever since only as a Christian. It was for the first time in July 1965 after he joined the Swatantra Party, a political organisation, he entertained the idea of conversion to Hinduism with a view to contest the seat from the Palakonda Constituency as by that time it was known that that Constituency would be reserved for Scheduled Castes and he would get support from Christian voters who are more than 10,090 in number. Then, on 15th September, 1965 he published in the Gazette that he was conveted to Hinduism. The petitioner contends that the Suddhi Sangham under the auspices of which the 1st respondent claims to have been converted is not a recognised organisation for converting persons belonging to different religions to Hindu religion; that this act of conversion is not valid and effective; that at any rate, the 1st respondent not being born a Hindu, could not acquire the membership of a Scheduled Caste assuming that any of his forefathers did ever belong to such caste; and further, even if he were a Hindu by birth, reconversion automatically would not give him his previous caste. It is urged that his father after his own conversion ceased to belong to any of the Scheduled Castes.