1. The petitioner, who has passed SSLC and ITI (Fitter), seeks to quash Ext.P3 notification issued by the Kerala Public Enterprises (Selection and Recruitment) Board for selection to the post of Operator in Keltron Component Complex Limited.

2. The 2nd respondent-Keltron Component Complex Limited is a State Public Sector Undertaking. The 2nd  respondent  invited  applications  to  fill  up  technical vacancies in their establishment. The petitioner submitted online application for the post of Operator (Fitter). Examination for selection was held on 03.03.2024. The petitioner was selected and placed at Rank No.6.

3. The petitioner states that appointment letters were issued to four selected candidates. The petitioner was not appointed. The petitioner states that out of the four candidates, who were appointed, two opted other Branches and only the other two joined service. Therefore, there are two posts lying vacant. The petitioner was not given appointment letter holding that he is a resident of Mahe within the Union Territory of Puduchery.

4. The petitioner belongs to Thiyya community and the petitioner was temporarily living in Mahe at the time of making application. Therefore, the petitioner was treated as Thiyya of Mahe. The contention of the respondents is that only Thiyyas of Kerala State are entitled to OBC reservation benefits.

5. The petitioner states that he is a resident of Kuthuparamba Municipality of Kannur District and he cannot be denied appointment to the post of Operator (Fitter). Denial of appointment to the petitioner would offend the fundamental right of the petitioner under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.

6. The respondents resisted the writ petition. The petitioner was not considered for the MJD vacancy against reservation in the E/B/T community as he belongs to the Thiyya community of the Union Territory of Puduchery. It is an admitted fact that the petitioner is a permanent resident of Mahe, Union Territory of Puduchery. The petitioner can get appointment only when two vacancies against Open Competition (OC) turns are reported to the Board. The respondents asserted that the petitioner does not belong to any backward class community in the State of Kerala.

7. The counsel for the petitioner relied on the judgment of the Hon’ble Apex Court in Marri Chandra Sekhar Rao v. Dean, Seth GS Medical College and others [(1990) 3 SCC 130] wherein it has been held that by force of circumstances, either of employment or of profession, if students or persons apply in the migrated State, where without affecting prejudicially the rights of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in those States or areas, any facility or protection for continuance of study or admission can be given to one who has or migrated and some consideration is desirable to be made on that ground. It would, therefore, be necessary and perhaps desirable for the legislators or the Parliament to consider appropriate legislations bearing this aspect in mind.

8. The Standing Counsel for the 3rd respondent also relied on the judgment in Marri Chandra Sekhar Rao (supra) and urged that the Hon’ble Apex Court has held that neither Article 14, 16, 19 nor Article 21 is denuded by migration but one must enjoy those rights in accordance with the law if they are otherwise followed in the place where he migrates. There is no inhibition in a Scheduled Caste or Tribe migrating, but when he migrates, he does not and cannot carry any special rights or privileges granted to him in the original State.

9. I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned Government Pleader representing the 1st respondent and the respective Standing Counsel appearing for respondents 2 and 3.

10. The petitioner satisfies all the eligibility conditions for recruitment to the post of Operator in Keltron Component Complex Limited prescribed in Ext.P3 recruitment notification. The petitioner was subjected to a competitive examination and was placed at Rank No.6. Four selected candidates were issued with appointment letters. The petitioner was not appointed against the existing vacancy earmarked for OBC E/B/T on the ground that the petitioner belongs to Mahe which is a part of the Union Territory of Puduchery.

11. The petitioner states that he was a temporary resident of Mahe when the online application was submitted. Thereafter, he has shifted to Panniyora of Kuthuparamba Municipality in Kannur District of Kerala State. Alleging that the petitioner is a Thiyya candidate of Puduchery, appointment is declined. As per law, people belonging to OBC of other States / UTs cannot be treated as OBC in another State. The petitioner initially produced a Caste Certificate issued by the revenue authority of Mahe. The petitioner has also been issued with Ext.P6 Caste Certificate signed by the revenue authority in Kuthuparamba Village describing the petitioner as OBC/Thiyya. The question is whether the petitioner can be treated as an OBC candidate of Kerala State.

12. The respondents, relying on the judgments of the Apex Court, would contend that the petitioner being a resident of Mahe which is a part of Union Territory of Puduchery,  he  cannot  be  treated  as  belonging  to  a recognised OBC community in Kerala State.

13. Mahe is a small municipal area of 8.69 square kilometres surrounded by the State of Kerala. Mahe is the smallest District of India in terms of land area. Mahe was a part of French India and became part of Puduchery Union Territory after India gained independence. By any stretch of imagination, it cannot be said that persons belonging to Thiyya community in Mahe and persons belonging to Thiyya community in Kerala are belonging to distinct communities. The tiny Territory of Mahe became a part of the Union Territory of Puduchery for the sole reason that when the French concurred and ruled Puduchery, the place Mahe which is almost 600 Km. far from the boundaries of Puduchery was also occupied by the French. The conquest of Mahe by the foreign invaders could not have any impact on the socio-cultural background of communities living within the islet of Kerala.

14. It cannot be said that by the conquest of Mahe by the foreign invaders, persons belonging to Thiyya community snapped their ties with members of Thiyya community in Kerala and consequently acquired a distinct social character and economic status. At least, there are no findings to that effect till date.

15. Members of Thiyya community in Mahe are integral part of the Thiyya community in Kerala. The umbilical cord between the members of Thiyya community in Kannur District and Mahe Municipality cannot be treated as cut off due to a short period of foreign invasion.

16. In the petitioner's case, both the revenue authorities of Mahe and Kuthuparamba have certified that the petitioner belongs to Thiyya community. Thiyya community has been granted OBC status both in the Kerala State and Mahe / Union Territory of Puduchery. If the petitioner is denied the benefit of reservation in the matter of employment available to persons belonging to backward communities, that would be thoroughly arbitrary and unjust offending the fundamental rights of the petitioner.

17. The petitioner claims that he is a resident of Kuthuparamba in Kannur District. Assuming that the petitioner is a resident of Mahe, even then denial of benefits available to OBC communities to the petitioner on the ground of temporary occupation of land by foreign invaders would amount to committing a historical wrong to them. This is a matter which should get the attention of the Government of Kerala as well as the Government of India.

18. Taking into consideration the peculiar facts of this case, the writ petition is allowed. The 2nd respondent is directed to grant appointment to the petitioner treating the petitioner as belonging to OBC / Thiyya community candidate of Kerala, if the petitioner satisfies all other parameters for grant of appointment pursuant to the selection conducted as per Ext.P3 notification.

The Registry is directed to forward a copy of this judgment to the Ministry of Law, Government of India and to the Department of Law, Government of Kerala.