Can you question Devikulam MLA’s caste without first challenging his caste certificate, SC asks defeated poll rival

Devikulam MLA A Raja.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (September 4, 2024) asked defeated Congress candidate D. Kumar whether he can question Kerala’s Devikulam MLA A. Raja’s identity as a member of the ‘Hindu-Parayan’ community without first challenging and proving that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader’s caste certificate was invalid or illegal.

“To back your claim that he (Raja) does not belong to the Scheduled Caste community and is a Christian, you have to first cross the hurdle of showing us in your pleadings that you had challenged his caste certificate,” Justice A.S. Oka, heading a three-judge Bench, told Mr. Kumar’s counsel.

Mr. Raja, a CPM leader, had appealed the Supreme Court following a Kerala High Court decision to invalidate the 2021 Assembly election for the Devikulam reserved seat and disqualify Mr. Raja as a legislator. The High Court had found him ineligible for Scheduled Caste reservation on the ground that he was a Christian convert. The High Court had ordered Mr. Raja to stand trial.

The Supreme Court stayed the High Court decision in 2023.

“He (Raja) had placed his caste certificate along with his nomination forms… Nobody has pleaded that his caste certificate is invalid or illegal… For anybody to say he is not a Scheduled Caste, you should challenge the caste certificate in the election petition… Can you make enquiries on the caste without challenging the validity of the caste certificate? That hurdle has to be crossed,” Justice Oka observed.

The Congress candidate’s counsel sought time to respond to the court’s query. The Bench listed the case for Wednesday next week.

In his appeal, Mr. Raja said he was a member of a Scheduled Caste, namely ‘Hindu-Parayan’ by birth and professing Hindu religion all through his life.

“Can he be denied the benefit of Scheduled Caste for declaring his election from the Devikulam Legislative Assembly Constituency, which is reserved for the Scheduled Caste, as void, on the basis of an alleged conversion to Christianity which was neither pleaded nor proved by the respondent (Kumar),” the appeal asked.

The appeal questioned whether the High Court had been right in denying the benefit of SC status to Mr. Raja in spite of proving the fact that his paternal grandparents had migrated to the erstwhile Travancore State (now Kerala) before 1950 and continued to permanently reside in Kerala thereafter.

Mr. Raja said he was born on October 17, 1984, professed the Hindu religion and was accepted by the ‘Hindu-Parayan’ caste as their member.

He had argued that Mr. Kumar had never challenged the authenticity of his documents. The High Court, in its judgment, had not discussed or even referred to the certificates submitted by him while holding that he was not a member of Hindu-Parayan caste.