KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday observed that a person cannot be considered as an ‘untouchable’ or ‘avarna’ merely because he is entitled to any reservation in education or appointments based on the constitutional protections granted to some weaker sections.
Justice B Kemal Pasha passed the order while considering a petition by V M Sasi, of Thrissur challenging the removal of his name from the membership register of the Paramekkavu Devaswom. The name was removed on the ground that the petitioner belongs to ‘Veluthedathu Nair’ which does not come within the definition of ‘Savarna Hindu’.
The petitioner submitted he was a member of the committee since 1987.
The by-laws of the Devaswom deals with the qualification of a person to become a member of the Devaswom as a ‘Malayali Savarna Hindu’.
The court pointed out that the petitioner who belongs to the sub-sect of ‘Veluthedath Nair’ is, no doubt, a Nair for all practical purposes and therefore, he cannot be treated as an ‘Avarna Hindu’.
“When he belongs to a sub-sect of the Nair community, he falls within the category of the fourth ‘Varna’ namely ‘Shudra’. Hence he is a Savarna Hindu,” the court held. The lower courts were carried away by holding a person as not a ‘Savarna’, in case, he is entitled to some sort of reservation in education or appointments based on the constitutional protections granted to some weaker sects.
“Merely because of such a constitutional protection, it cannot be said that those persons are Untouchables or Avarnas. By enjoying such a constitutional protection available to the weaker strata, one cannot become an Avarna,” the court observed. The Paramekkavu Devaswom contended that the persons who are enjoying reservation in education or employment are not entitled to become members of the Devaswom.
The court held that the Devaswom could not take a such stand and it has to go by its own by-laws. The court made it clear that it is open to challenge the eligibility of the petitioner to become a member of the office-bearer of the Devaswom on any grounds other than the ground taken up in the case.
