Reissue caste certificate to Zilla Parishad chief: Andhra Pradesh High Court

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday directed the Guntur district collector to determine again the caste of Guntur Zilla Parishad chairperson Henry Christina and her husband Kathera Suresh Kumar. While giving the orders, Justice D Ramesh asked the collector to take into consideration fresh evidences, proving the caste of ZP chairperson and her husband.

A petition was filed before the court last year, seeking orders to cancel the SC (Scheduled caste) certificate given to ZP chairperson and her husband by M Sarala Kumari of Kollipara village in Guntur district. The petitioner maintained that the two have been claiming that they belong to SC category, but they were not.

When the matter came for hearing on Tuesday, petitioner’s counsel Jada Sravan Kumar said Christina and Suresh Kumar took Baptism and converted to Christianity, so they can no longer be considered as SCs.
Sravan Kumar informed the court that the officials did not conduct a proper enquiry into the complaint lodged by the petitioner into the caste of the ZP chairperson and her husband and misled the collector, following which the latter issued SC certificate to the two.

Sravan Kumar further told the court that earlier the couple did not have evidence to prove that they had converted to Christianity, but now they do. Justice Ramesh directed the Guntur district collector to take into consideration the evidences to be submitted by the petitioner and issue the caste certificate to Christina and Suresh Kumar, accordingly. Justice Ramesh asked the collector to complete the process in three months and also wanted the collector to hear the version of Christina and Suresh Kumar before taking a decision.