The Supreme Court has permitted a 55-year-old man to retain his Hindu backward caste to which his grandfather once belonged before getting converted into Christianity.
Allowing the petitioner KP Manu hailing from Kerala to be reinstated into service which he earned on the strength of his Hindu Pulaya caste certificate issued when he reconverted at the age of 24, the apex court directed the State Government to provide him with all benefits relating to seniority and caste and to pay him 75 per cent back wages within eight weeks.
Manu broke ranks from his family, choosing to adopt Hinduism against the wishes of his Christian parents. Though his parents and grandparents hailed from Pulaya caste, reservation in jobs was meant only for Hindu Pulayas. In 1984, he obtained a certificate from the local authority recognizing him as Hindu Pulaya. Three years later he married a Christian Pulaya girl, but remained Hindu. His caste certificate was challenged and the Scrutiny Committee held it to be illegal. The Kerala High Court too held that the caste certificate could not be issued to Manu.
Setting aside the HC verdict, the apex bench of Justices Dipak Misra and V Gopala Gowda held that the petitioner is entitled to the caste certificate as there was proof that his grandfather was Hindu Pulaya, that he was accepted by the Pulaya community established by the certificate, and he continued to practice the Hindu religion and traditions and customs of the Pulaya community.