‘A big problem’: Supreme Court orders probe into Tamil Nadu caste certificates

The bench said: “We would like to ensure whether these certificates are genuine or not. We would also like to know in what manner such caste certificates have been procured by thousands of people in the area.”

The bench was dealing with an appeal challenging the April 22, 2019 Madras High Court judgment which while asking the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), Mettur Dam, Salem district, to issue a community certificate to the son of the petitioner, A Pradeepa, also directed that her community certificate along with those of her brother, sister, close relatives and son be referred “to the State Level Scrutiny Committee for verification of the genuineness of the same.” Pradeepa claimed to belong to the Hindu Konda Reddis Community, a Scheduled Tribe. She applied for a caste certificate for her son but was declined the same after an inquiry undertaken by the RDO following which she approached the Madras High Court.

The HC noted that since the community certificates issued to the petitioner, her sister, her brother and also of her close relatives, were not cancelled as on the date of the judgement, “there cannot be any impediment in issuing the community certificate to the petitioner’s son.” Howsever, it directed that once the certificate is issued to the son, the genuineness of all their certificates be verified by the State Level Scrutiny Committee. Issuing notice on the Special Leave Petition challenging this, the Supreme Court had on November 22, 2019, stayed the operation of the HC order.

However, by its February 25, 2025 order, the SC modified the November 22, 2019 order, so as to allow the committee to go ahead with the inquiry.

It said, “We are conscious of the fact that the State has been able to obtain an interim order by which the operation of the impugned judgment has been stayed. However, we modify the order to the extent that let the State Level Scrutiny Committee undertake an extensive inquiry into this issue at the earliest and file its report before us to enable us to proceed further in the matter. We direct the State Level Scrutiny Committee to undertake this exercise at the earliest and file its appropriate report within six weeks from today without fail.”

The SC said that “once the report comes, we shall thereafter proceed to look into each of the petitions independently.”