P. Sivakami v. The Secretary To Govt. Of Tn.
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED : 08.09.2022
CORAM:
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE R.MAHADEVAN and THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE J.SATHYA NARAYANA PRASAD and M.P.(MD) Nos.1 & 2 of 2015 P.Sivakami ... Petitioner -vs1.The Secretary to the Government of Tamilnadu Department of Home St.George Fort Chennai-9 2.The Secretary to the Government of Tamilnadu Department of Rural Development Panchayat & Local Administration St.George Fort Chennai-9 3.The Secretary to the Government of Tamilnadu Department of Adi Dravidar Welfare St.George Fort, Chennai-9 ... Respondents
PRAYER: Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, to issue a writ of mandamus directing 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 :
No appearance For Respondents :
Mr.G.V.Vairam Santhosh Additional Government Pleader
O R D E R
[Order of the Court was made by R.MAHADEVAN, J.] The prayer in this writ petition is for issuance of a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to remove the discriminatory titles, like Colony, Seri, Kuppam and other discriminatory expressions given to the scheduled caste habitations, from all the Government records, like ration card, Voter ID and to 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.
2. When the matter was taken up for hearing, the learned Additional Government Pleader appearing for the respondents submitted that the relief sought for in this writ petition has already been considered and rejected by this Court vide order dated 01.12.2016 in W.P.(MD) No.15842 of 2015. The operative portion of the order dated 01.12.2016 is extracted hereunder:
"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 3 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."
3. In such circumstances, no further adjudication is required in respect of the grounds raised in this writ petition. 4.
Accordingly, the writ petition is closed. No costs.
Consequently, connected miscellaneous petitions are closed. [R.M.D., J.] [J.S.N.P., J.] 08.09.2022 Index :
Yes / No Internet :
Yes / No krk
To:
1.The Secretary to the Government of Tamilnadu, Department of Home, St.George Fort, Chennai-9.
2.The Secretary to the Government of Tamilnadu, Department of Rural Development, Panchayat & Local Administration, St.George Fort, Chennai-9.
3.The Secretary to the Government of Tamilnadu, Department of Adi Dravidar Welfare, St.George Fort, Chennai-9.
R.MAHADEVAN , J.
and J.SATHYA NARAYANA PRASAD, J.
krk and M.P.(MD) Nos.1 & 2 of 2015 08.09.2022