Reiterating the legal position that when a Scheduled Caste individual migrates from one State or Union Territory to another, he can only claim to belong to the community in relation to the State or Union Territory from which he has migrated, the Madras High Court on Friday upheld a single judge order on the issue.
Dismissing an appeal against a single judge order, which had rejected pleas to allow migrant SC candidates in Puducherry for reservation in institutions meant for the community, a Division Bench comprising Justices Satish Kumar Agnihotri and K.K. Sasidharan said the appellants had not produced any material to prove that the Puducherry government had framed a policy to extend the benefits in the field of education to the migrants.
Maintaining that the appellants were entitled to benefits of reservation only in the State from where they migrated, the Bench said, “There is no question of considering them as Scheduled Caste in relation to the Union Territory of Puducherry in view of their migration after the cut-off date.”
“Even if the government of Puducherry wanted to extend other benefits to those who have migrated to the Union Territory from other States, it would be possible only by way of passing appropriate legislation as indicated in Marri Chandra Shekhar Rao (a similar case),” the Bench said, adding that no one could compel the government to initiate such legislation. A single judge earlier dismissing pleas by two students and an association, which sought to treat migrant SC candidates as resident SC candidates defined in the Constitution (Pondicherry) Scheduled Castes Order, 1964, to seek admission in professional courses in Puducherry.
“No question of considering them as SC in relation to Puducherry in view of their migration after cut-off date”
