The Kerala High Court has held that Tahsildars have no power to cancel a community certificate issued by them under the Kerala Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Regulation of Issue of Community Certificate Act 1996.
The court observed that only the scrutiny committee constituted under the Act was empowered to cancel community certificate if it was found that the certificate has been obtained by fraud. The authority which had issued the certificate had no power to cancel the certificate.
The court made the observations while setting aside the Idukki Tahsildar’s orders cancelling the community certificates issued to two members of the Arakulam grama panchayat.
The court noted that Section 11 of the Act specifically empowered the scrutiny committee to go into the question whether the certificate was obtained fraudulently and to cancel the same if it was found to have been obtained fraudulently. In fact, the power to cancel a false certificate had been specifically bestowed on the scrutiny committee.
The court also took note of the State Government stand that there was no power available in the statute to withdraw a community certificate which has been issued by the officer concerned.
The court held that the orders of the Tahsildars withdrawing the community certificates were not legally sustainable.
