Place Of Birth Not Sole Criterion To Be Eligible For Nativity Certificate, Social Belongingness To Be Considered As Well: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Thursday ruled that residents born outside the state who are socially adapted to the norms and values of the state are entitled to a nativity certificate for claiming educational and other benefits available to natives.

Justice P B Suresh Kumar observed that the place of birth of a person or that of his/her parents cannot be the sole criterion for the grant of nativity certificate to someone born outside Kerala, as their "social belongingness" to the state also has to be considered.

The Court declared that one's social belongingness can be ascertained by considering whether they have socially adapted to the prevailing system of norms and values in the state.

This was held in a petition moved by a 24-year old woman for issuance of a nativity certificate to pursue higher studies. She had alleged that her application for a nativity certificate was rejected by the Village Officer on the ground that neither she nor her parents were born in Kerala.

The petitioner's parents hailed from Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu and had settled here after marriage She was also born in Thoothukudi since her mother went to her maternal home for giving birth.

However, she was brought up in Kerala and did her entire schooling and graduation from here and thereafter, applied for a nativity certificate to pursue higher studies.

Advocate G. Sreekumar appeared for the petitioner, and Government Pleader Vinitha B represented the respondents in the matter.

Quashing the decision of the Village Officer, the court observed that although the ancestors of the petitioner did not belong to the state and the petitioner is born outside the state, the materials indicate that she is a person who is socially adapted to the prevailing system of norms and values in the State of Kerala.

"If a person is socially adapted to the prevailing system of norms and values in the state, I am of the view that he/she shall be considered as a person belonging to the state...Needless to say, they are entitled to nativity certificate for claiming educational and other benefits available to the natives of the state," the Court held.

Such persons are to be treated as belonging to the State of Kerala, the Bench held. Hence, they are entitled to a nativity certificate for claiming educational and other benefits available to the natives of the state.

The writ petition was accordingly allowed, and the impugned communication of the village was set aside.

The court additionally laid down that if the nativity certificate is issued to ascertain whether the person belongs to the state of Kerala, then the place of birth of the person and the place of birth of his/ her parents cannot be the sole criterion to decide the eligibility.

If the place of birth is accepted as the sole criterion to decide eligibility, a person who is brought up in the state and whose ancestors belong to the state would not be entitled to a nativity certificate, if he and his parents happened to be born outside the state, it said.

"On the other hand, if the place of birth is accepted as the sole criterion to decide the eligibility, even a person who happened to be born in the state by the mere circumstances that his/ her parents happened to be in the state while giving birth to him/ her, would be entitled to nativity certificate, although his/ her ancestors may not be having any connection whatsoever with the state," the court held.

The Village Officer was thereby directed to issue the native certificate to the petitioner. 

Case Title: Vincy Dinakaran v. State of Kerala

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