Madras High Court Rejects Appearance and English Proficiency as Indicators of Religion

The Madras High Court has set aside a committee decision rejecting a Customs officer's Hindu Adi Dravidar community certificate after finding that several reasons used to infer his religion were irrelevant or unsupported.

Background

M. Ravikumar was born into a Christian family after his father had converted from the Hindu Adi Dravidar community. He said that he and his father later reconverted to Hinduism through Arya Samaj and that he subsequently obtained a Hindu Adi Dravidar community certificate.

The District Level Vigilance Committee later rejected the certificate. Among other matters, it referred to the family's fair complexion, height, physique, curly hair and ability to speak Tamil and English.

Court's reasoning

Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy held that those physical and linguistic characteristics had no rational bearing on whether Ravikumar practised Christianity. The Court also found that some other conclusions, including findings about whether he had been accepted back into the caste, lacked concrete reasons.

The judgment referred to the Supreme Court ruling in K.P. Manu, which recognises that a person born into a family converted from Hinduism can, on reconversion and acceptance, return to the original caste fold.

Fresh inquiry ordered

The impugned committee order was set aside. Ravikumar must submit the documents, photographs and other material supporting his claim within four weeks. The Committee must provide a personal hearing and pass a fresh order within eight weeks of his appearance.