The Madras High Court observed that community certificate’s issuance or revocation has far-reaching effects that affect not only the individuals directly engaged but also have wider ramifications for the family’s future generations.
Case Title: P. Maheswari v The Secretary to Government and Others
Case No: W.P.(MD). No.12195 of 2023
Decided on: 02nd November, 2023
CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE S.M. SUBRAMANIAM AND HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE V. LAKSHMINARAYANAN
Introduction
The Madras High Court observed while dealing with the petition filed by P. Maheswari that community certificate’s issuance or revocation has far-reaching effects that affect not only the individuals directly engaged but also have wider ramifications for the family’s future generations.
Facts of the Case
In the present case, the petitioner backed by a community certificate acclaimed that she belongs to the scheduled Kuravan caste community and won the 2019 local body elections to become the president of G. Kalluppatti Panchayat. But a competing candidate objected to her victory, claiming in a complaint that she had submitted a forged community certificate. As a result, the District Level Vigilance Committee by the District carried out an investigation and revoked the petitioner’s community certificate. The petitioner then filed a writ petition, which was granted by the court in its final order on June 20, 2022, overturning the committee’s ruling. The committee was instructed by the court to reexamine the situation, get a report from the Vigilance Cell, and issue a new final ruling within twelve weeks.
In spite of this, on May 3, 2023, the District Level Vigilance Committee issued the contested order as directed by the court. The respondent claims that the committee’s judgement was justified by the Vigilance Cell’s comprehensive report, while the petitioner claims that the committee disregarded important documents.
Courts analysis and decision
The court ruled that the petitioner provided the District Level Vigilance Committee with 62 documents in total to support her claims,. And none of these papers are mentioned in the assailed ruling, and no conclusions are made that either accept or reject the petitioner’s position’s supporting evidence.
The court directed the District Level Vigilance Committee to carefully examine the petitioner’s documents, any vigilance reports, and any other reports and prior to making a reasoned order, the Committee is required to make extensive factual and legal assessments. Four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order is the deadline for completing this process. The petitioner is asked to work with the respondents to quickly conclude the proceedings, and the Committee will reject any requests for unjustified adjournments.
The court further observed that a community certificate’s issuance or revocation has far-reaching effects that affect not only the individuals directly engaged but also have wider ramifications for the family’s future generations. Given the extensive consequences, it is essential that qualified authorities proceed with caution and due attention when conducting their investigation. It is anticipated that every document that the parties provide will be carefully reviewed, and the authorities must reach a definitive conclusion. To preserve the fundamental rights of the person applying for the certification, the decision of whether to issue or revoke the community certificate must be clear-cut. Any uncertainty in this procedure may lead to the individual in question being denied a fundamental right.
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Written by- Rupika Goundla
