VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has made it clear that the burden of proving that the individual does not belong to the claimed caste rests with the authorities themselves when government authorities dispute the caste status of a person.
Officials cannot deny caste status merely because certain documents were not produced, the court held, reiterating that children inherit their father’s caste-a principle settled by the Supreme Court and various High Courts.
Justice Konakanti Srinivasa Reddy delivered the ruling while allowing a petition filed by Atlapakala Ramakrishna, who claimed to belong to the Konda Kapu (Scheduled Tribe-NT) community. The court set aside orders of the Principal Secretary, Social Welfare Department, and the East Godavari District Joint Collector, which had cancelled Ramakrishna’s Scheduled Tribe caste certificate by branding him a Kapu.
The court found that the authorities relied solely on a land record from 1938 to deny Ramakrishna’s caste status, ignoring consistent evidence showing that his father and grandmother were recognised as Konda Kapus. Revenue records from as early as 1966, as well as a 2004 order of the Tribal Welfare Deputy Collector, had clearly identified them as tribals.
Ramakrishna’s family had long resided in agency areas of East Godavari district, and he had pursued his entire education as an NT candidate. While he was studying BSc Agriculture, authorities initiated caste verification proceedings and, in 2005, cancelled his certificate without issuing notice or granting him a hearing. The cancellation was later upheld by the Principal Secretary in 2009.
Terming the authorities’ approach arbitrary and unjustified, the High Court held that cancelling a caste certificate based on a single outdated land record, while ignoring overwhelming contrary evidence, was unsustainable. Accordingly, the court restored Ramakrishna’s caste status as Konda Kapu (Scheduled Tribe-NT).