T RAJESWARI Vs. VICE CHANCELLOR CUM CHAIRMAN SREE VENKATESWARA UNIVERSITY SELECTION COMMITTEE TIRUPATHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appointment of 3rd respondent, that is, Smt. K. Vijayakumari, as Lecturer in Zoology Department in Sree Venkateswara University, Tirupati, vide proceedings E. 11/2/89 Appointments, dated 17-2-1989, in a post earmarked for a Scheduled Caste candidate has been assailed. In other words, this Court is called upon to decide whether Smt. K. Vijayakumari, who belongs to forward community, by virtue of her marriage with a Scheduled Caste man acquires the social status of her husband to claim protective discrimination as envisaged under Article 16 (4) of the Constitution of India.

(2.) The facts of this case are not in dispute. The 3rd respondent, daughter of one K.Ramachandra Reddy, seemed to have married one M.Rajeshwara Rao who belongs to Scheduled Caste and thereafter she started applying for appointment as a Scheduled Caste candidate by contending that by virtue of her marriage she acquired the caste of her husband. At the time when the 3rd respondent appeared before the 1strespondent-University for a temporary appointment in the year 1984, the Tahsildar, Kavali, while issuing the caste certificate stating that the 3rd respondent belongs to Scheduled Caste relied on a judgment of this Court rendered in the case of P. Usha Kir an vs. Govt. A.P and she seemed to have been appointed to that post on the basis of the above certificate. Subsequently, as per the statutes of the University Act, regular notification was issued calling applications from the eligible candidates to fill up the vacancies available in the University on 3-11-1988. In Zoology Department, as per the notification, applications were called for to fill up two posts of Professors, one post of Reader and two posts of Lecturers. The notification simply says that the rule of reservation prescribed by the State Government will be followed but it does not say which of the posts were earmarked for reserved categories. Be that as it may, after the process of selection is over the 3rd respondent was appointed as a Lecturer in a post earmarked for Scheduled Caste category at Post Graduate Centre, Kavali under the impugned proceedings dated 17-2-1989. The whole basis for her claim with regard to social status seemed to be the judgment in the case of Usha Kiran (1 supra). It is very short and sweet judgment without any discussion, without looking into the legal aspects of the matter and without reference to the G.Os. on the subject the learned Judge declared that on marriage the lady acquires the caste of her husband and she ceases to be a member of her caste in which she used to be before her marriage. The learned Judge proceeds and holds that acquisition of caste by birth is only one of the modes of acquiring caste by an individual. With great respect to the learned Judge if this can be accepted as a principle, perhaps, each and every individual would have chosen the caste to suit his/her needs to get maximum benefit in the present caste ridden society. A person acquires his caste by birth, but not by any other mode, unlike the religion. Even if an individual resorts to conversion, as long as he continues to be in Hindu fold the caste in which he was born will continue to hunt him even at the grave yard. Be that as it may the learned Judge has taken that view. Suffice to state that the view taken by the learned Judge is not supported by any orders issued by the Government or by any judgments of any superior Court where the issue was discussed and reached a conclusion to that effect. On the other hand under Article 341 of the Constitution of India the President alone is empowered to specify the castes, races or tribes or parts of groups within the castes, races or tribes which shall for all purposes of the Constitution be deemed to be Scheduled Caste in relation to that State or Union Territory as the case may be. In exercise of the power conferred, the Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi, issued a brochure containing the list of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe and also the guidelines for verifying the claims for issuing Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe certificates. The Government of India in its letter L.No.35/l/72-RU (SC T.V.) dated 2-5-75 stipulated some guidelines which read as under:

(3.) From this it is evident that a person who is not a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe by birth will not be considered as a member of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe merely because he/she had married a person belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. Likewise, a person who is a member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe will not lose her social status after his/her marriage with a person who does not belong to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. In other words, the spouses to the institution of a marriage continue to retain their original social status. Ours being a paternal society the offsprings of such an intercaste marriage acquires the caste of their father for all purposes and the children will enjoy not only the privileges but also the discrimination that follows from the caste of their father, but not the mother. Except in the judgment referred Usha Kiran's case (1 supra) in all other judgements this Court has approved the view taken by the Central Government. Instead of referring to all these decisions, suffice to refer to the latest decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Mrs. Valsamma Paul vs. Cochin University, wherein his Lordship Justice K.Ramaswamy, as he then was held that when a member is transplanted into the dalits, tribes and OBCs he/she must of necessity also undergo same handicaps, be subject to the same disabilities, disadvantages, indignities or sufferings so as to entitle the candidate to avail the facility of reservation. A candidate who had the advantageous start in life being born in forward caste and had a march of advantageous life but is transplanted in Backward Caste by adoption or marriage or conversion, does not become eligible to the benefit of reservation either under Article 15 (4) or 16 (4) as the case may be. Acquisition of the status of Scheduled Caste etc., by voluntary mobility into these categories would play fraud on the Constitution, and would frustrate the benign constitutional policy under Articles 15 (4) and 16 (4) of the Constitution.