'Officials Have No Authority to Issue No Caste No Religion Certificate': Madras HC

'No Caste, No Religion' certificate cannot be issued by Revenue officials, observed the Madras High Court while hearing a petition filed by Santhosh, who hails from Tirupathur district of Tamil Nadu, seeking the certificate.

Chennai (Tamil Nadu):The Madras High Court refused to direct the concerned officer to issue the 'No caste no religion' certificate, saying that the district tahsildars have no authority to issue such type of certificates and they have the authority to issue only the certificates mentioned in the list.

Justice S M Subramaniam dismissed a writ petition filed by Santhosh, who hails from Tirupathur district of Tamil Nadu. Santhosh had filed a case in the Madras High Court seeking an order to issue him a certificate of 'No caste no religion' from the Tirupathur collector.

Justice Subramaniam, who heard the case, said, "Being a good citizen is the greatest contribution to the development of our great nation. The wish of the petitioner, who has sought a certificate of belonging to a different caste and religion, is commendable. However, if such certificates are issued, some problems will arise."

Justice Subramaniam also noted that granting such a certificate would have serious consequences in the application of personal laws for property, inheritance, and reservation in education and employment.

"The petitioner is at liberty to skip the blank that is provided for caste and religion in the school documents. The authorities can not point out if he does the same," the Judge noted.

"The direction to issue such types of certificates to officials would open the floodgates for other individuals who seek similar directions," added Justice Subramaniam.

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