Inter-caste marriage certificate can't be ground for denying job: HC

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court held that the failure or delay in submitting an inter-caste marriage certificate cannot be a ground for government to deny a job under the inter-caste marriage quota.

Justice S M Subramaniam passed the direction on disposing of a petition filed by A Elangovan, a resident from Tirupur.

The petitioner sought direction to the School Education Department to consider his candidature for the lab assistant post in the government school.

The petitioner alleged that though he scored 115 marks in the examination conducted for the post, he was denied the offer for the reason that he failed to submit the SSLC certificate and the inter-caste marriage certificate.

Recording the submissions, the judge held that a candidate who scored the highest mark of 115 need not be denied merely on the ground that he took some more time to furnish the original copy of the SSLC Book and the inter-caste marriage certificate.

“The court is of an opinion that the writ petitioner was denied an opportunity without any valid or acceptable reason and he is eligible and entitled to selection or appointment since other candidates who scored fewer marks than that of the petitioner were selected and appointed. For all these reasons, the writ petition is to be considered," the judge held.

Justice Subramaniam also held that the fact remains that the inter-caste marriage was registered in the District Employment Exchange and the Employment Exchange Registration Card was also produced before the competent authority.

The judge also directed the government to select and appoint the petitioner to the post of Lab Assistant in Tirupur District and issue appropriate orders of appointment, within a period of four weeks.