Karuppiah, v. The Secetary To Govt. Of
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED: 01.12.2016
CORAM:
THE HONOURABLE MR.SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, CHIEF JUSTICE AND THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE S.NAGAMUTHU W.P.(MD).No.15842 of 2015 and M.P.(MD).No.1 of 2015 Karuppiah .. Petitioner Vs.
1.The Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Department of Home, St. George Fort, Chennai -9.
2.The Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Department of Rural Development, Panchayat & Local Administration, St. George Fort, Chennai -9.
3.The Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Department of Adi Dravidar Welfare, St. George Fort, Chennai -9.
.. Respondents PRAYER: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for issuance of a Writ of Mandamus, to direct the respondents to remove the discriminatory titles "Colony, Seri, Kuppam and other discriminatory expressions" given to the scheduled caste habitations from all the Government records like ration card, voter ID and either issue a fresh name according to the population of the schedule caste people in the respective areas or endorse the main name of the respective areas. For Petitioner : Ms.A.Rajini For respondents : Mr.M.Govindan, Special Government Pleader
ORDER
[Order of the Court was made by The Hon'ble The Chief Justice] The present Public Interest Litigation seeks removal of alleged discriminatory titles to habitations, as, according to the https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/
petitioner, they are meant as derogatory terminology and would be violative of the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
2. There are three words over which an issue has been raised: (a) Colony; (b) Seri; and (c) Kuppam. Insofar as the expression "Colony" is concerned, it is submitted that it is reflective of the Colonization by British Rulers. That, in our view, cannot be the sole interpretation as this is a commonly used word to refer an area of habitation. Therefore, there are colonies with prefix to describe what is the nature of the colony or the name by which the name of the colony is known. But the two expressions "Seri" and "Kuppam", at least, one of us (SNJ) is well versed in Tamil and the first expression "Seri" means "a Village", while so, the second refers to "a portion of a village". The dictionary meaning of "Seri" suggests that it refers to a slum area in a city. The word "Kuppam", as per the dictionary meaning, means a fishermen hamlet or a slum in a city. The petitioner has not placed any material on record to show whether these terminologies are used in an offensive meaning, the reason possibly is on account of what we have discussed aforesaid.
3. Petition is dismissed. No costs. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petition is also dismissed.
Sd/- Assistant Registrar(Records) /True Copy/ Sub Assistant Registrar To 1.The Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Department of Home, St. George Fort, Chennai -9.
2.The Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Department of Rural Development, Panchayat & Local Administration, St. George Fort,Chennai -9.
3.The Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Department of Adi Dravidar Welfare, St. George Fort,Chennai -9.
+1 cc to M/s.A.Rajini,Advocate Sr.No.79303 +1 cc to the Spl.Govt.pleader Sr.No.78967 gcg rum/21.12.2016/2p/6c ORDER MADE IN W.P.(MD).No.15842 of 2015 Dated:01.12.2016 https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/