Introduction
The Madras High Court has held that a child cannot be denied a community certificate with “origin” status merely because the father is a migrant from another State, when the mother is a native of Puducherry and belongs to the same recognised community.
Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy observed that the purpose of reservation is to address the social disadvantage, discrimination and stigma faced by a person belonging to a particular community. The Court held that whether such disadvantage is traced through the father or the mother cannot, by itself, determine eligibility for reservation.
Legal Issue
The Court was dealing with a batch of petitions involving children born and brought up in Puducherry whose mothers were natives of the Union Territory and possessed SC, MBC or OBC community certificates with origin status. Their fathers, however, were migrants from other States, mainly from neighbouring districts of Tamil Nadu. The authorities had therefore either denied them origin-status certificates or classified them as migrants.
The Court rejected the argument that caste or community status must necessarily be traced through the father because India is traditionally a patriarchal society. It observed that such an approach would amount to relying on outdated gender stereotypes and would raise concerns under Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution.
The Court noted that the crucial question is not simply which parent the community status comes from, but whether the child was actually brought up within the community and experienced the social disadvantages, indignities and discrimination associated with it.
Court Ruling
Accordingly, the Court directed the authorities to issue appropriate community certificates recognising the petitioners’ SC, MBC or OBC status, as applicable, with Puducherry origin status based on their mother’s nativity. The certificates would enable eligible petitioners to claim reservation and other applicable benefits in education and employment under the Union Territory administration.
Case: Thelagam v. The Union Territory of Puducherry and Others
