N.Venkatesh S/O. N.Venkataramana v. State Of Andhra Pradesh

THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO.41103 OF 2015

O R D E R

The grievance of the petitioner is that the respondent authorities refused to issue him a caste certificate to the effect that he belonged to 'Periki Balija', which falls in BC-B category. It is the case of the petitioner that his father had been issued a caste certificate to this effect but his request for the same has been summarily rejected. Perusal of the Endorsement dated 01.12.2015 of the Tahsildar, Karnool Mandal, reflects that the petitioner's application has been rejected without any reasons whatsoever. The Endorsement reads as under:

'Your application dated 30/9/2015 for INTEGRATED CERTIFICATE was examined. After enquiry your request is not considered due to the following reasons and hence rejected. REASONS: REJECTED.'

Statutory authorities are required to record reasons when the orders passed by them have adverse civil consequences. This is now recognized to be one of the principles of natural justice. Despite the same, statutory authorities continue to pass orders which are terse to the point of being cryptic. The case on hand is an example. The request of the petitioner for grant of a caste certificate if it merited rejection warranted that the authority concerned pass a detailed order setting out the reasons as to why the petitioner's application could not be considered. The impugned Endorsement falls woefully short of this requirement.

The Endorsement dated 01.12.2015 of the Tahsildar, Kurnool Mandal, is accordingly set aside and the matter is remitted to his file for consideration afresh of the petitioner's application for grant of a caste certificate. The Tahsildar, Kurnool Mandal, shall take appropriate action

in the matter in accordance with law and, in the event he again chooses to reject the request of the petitioner, he shall record the reasons therefor and communicate the same to the petitioner. This exercise shall be completed expeditiously and in any event, not later than four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.

The writ petition is allowed to the extent indicated above. Pending miscellaneous petitions shall stand closed in the light of this final order. No order as to costs.

______________________ SANJAY KUMAR, J 18th JANUARY, 2016 Svv