The Madras High Court Bench here has directed the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) of Tenkasi to issue a community certificate to a student from Hindu Kattunayakkan community, a Scheduled Tribe, who is pursuing a B.A. degree course.
The petitioner, M. Esakiraj, a student of St. Xavier’s College, Palayamkottai, claimed in his petition that the official refused to issue the community certificate to him through an order passed on April 19, 2011 stating that there was no “clear proof of his community status”.
K. Samidurai, the counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner, contended that Mr. Esakiraj’s brothers Poomarimuthu and Arumugakani had obtained community certificates in 2002 validating that they belonged to Hindu Kattunayakkan community. The petitioner’s mother Kuruvammal was one of the beneficiaries of the State Government’s scheme under which land sites measuring two cents were provided to the people belonging to the Hindu Kattunayakkan community, he added.
C. Selvaraj, special government pleader, submitted that the RDO had rejected the request of the petitioner for the community certificate because there was no clear proof of his community status. His mother being allotted two cents of land under the State Government’s scheme could not be a clear proof of the petitioner’s community status, he argued.
A division bench comprising Justices N. Paul Vasanthakumar and P. Devadass in its order observed that the petitioner could not be denied the community certificate because his brothers and mother had already been issued community certificates.
Therefore, they directed the RDO to issue the community certificate to the petitioner within four weeks.
