Ayana S Unni and Others v. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyala Samiti and Others

**WP(C) NO. 24065 OF 2021** **1** ## **IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM** ## **PRESENT** ## **THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V** **THURSDAY, THE 11[TH] DAY OF NOVEMBER 2021 / 20TH KARTHIKA, 1943** ## **WP(C) NO. 24065 OF 2021** ## **PETITIONERS:** 1 AYANA S UNNI AGED 11 YEARS (MINOR), D/O.UNNIKRISHNAN, STUDENT, 5TH STANDARD, 7TH DAY ADVENTIST HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL, CHALLIKKAD, PUDUSSERY GRAMA PANCHAYAT, PUDUSSERY, PALAKKAD-678621, RESIDING AT MUNDANKANDATH HOUSE, KIZHAKKETHARA, MARUTHAROAD GRAMA PANCHAYAT, KOTTEKKAD, PALAKKAD-678732, REPRESENTED BY HER FATHER AND NATURAL GUARDIAN UNNIKRISHNAN, AGED 50 YEARS, S/O.RAMACHANDRAN OF ABOVE ADDRESS. 2 ABHINAV K., AGED 11 YEARS (MINOR), S/O.KRISHNADAS, STUDENT, 5TH STANDARD, SNUP SCHOOL, KODUNTHARAPULLY, PIRAYARI GRAMA PANCHAYAT, PIRAYARI, PALAKKAD-678004, RESIDING AT 1 IHDP COLONY, ERUPPAKKADU, PIRAYARI, PALAKKAD-678004, REPRESENTED BY HIS FATHER AND NATURAL GUARDIAN KRISHNADAS, AGED 38 YEARS, S/O.RAMAN OF ABOVE ADDRESS. 3 AKSHITH P.J., AGED 11 YEARS (MINOR), S/O.JAYAPRAKASH, STUDENT, 5TH STANDARD, BES BHARTHIYA TIRTHA VIDYALAYA, KALLEKKAD, PIRAYARI GRAMA PANCHAYAT, PIRAYARI, PALAKKAD-678004, RESIDING AT PANTHAMPADAM HOUSE, EDATHARA POST, PARALI GRAMA PANCHAYAT, PALKKAD-678611, REPRESENTED BY HIS FATHER AND NATURAL GUARDIAN JAYAPRAKASH, AGED 46 YEARS, S/O.THEYYAPPAN OF ABOVE ADDRESS. BY ADV U.BALAGANGADHARAN ## **RESPONDENTS:** 1 JAWAHAR NAVODAYA VIDYALAYA SAMITI B-15, INSTITUTIONAL AREA SECTOR 62, NOIDA, **WP(C) NO. 24065 OF 2021** **2** UTTER PRADESH-201137, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY. 2 THE COMMISSIONER, JAWAHAR NAVODAYA VIDYALAYA SAMITI, B-15, INSTITUTIONAL AREA, SECTOR 62, NOIDA, UTTER PRADESH-201137. 3 THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER JAWAHAR NAVODAYA VIDYALAYA SAMITI, REGIONAL OFFICE, NALAGANDLA ROAD, GOPALAPALLY, RENGAREDDY DISTRICT, HYDERABAD, TELUNGANA STATE-500040. 4 THE PRINCIPAL, JAWAHAR NAVODAYA VIDYALAYA, MALAMPUZHA, PALAKKAD678005. 5 THE TAHSILDAR, CIVIL STATION, PALAKKAD-678001. 6 THE VILLAGE OFFICER, PIRAYARI, PALAKKAD-678004. 7 THE VILLAGE OFFICER, PUDUSSERY VILLAGE, PUDUSSERY, PALAKKAD-678103. BY ADV SHRI.M.K.PADMANABHAN NAIR, SC, NVS SRI BIJOY CHANDRAN SR GOVERNMENT PLEADER THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 11.11.2021, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: **WP(C) NO. 24065 OF 2021** **3** ## **JUDGMENT** The petitioners herein are minor children aged about 11 years. They aspire to get admission in the VI standard class at the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Malampuzha. 2. The petitioners contend that their place of residence as well as the location of the school in which they pursued their V standard education are in rural areas. Details of their location of residence and location of the school have been provided and the same is extracted below for easy reference. |Petitioner|Location of residence|Location of School| |---|---|---| |Ayana S. Unni|Kottekkad Marutharod<br>Panchayat|Pudussery Panchayat| |Abinav. K.|Pirayari Panchayat|Pirayari Panchayat| |Akshith.P.J.|Pirayari Panchayat|Pirayari Panchayat| 3. One of the pre-conditions for admission is that students who seek admission to the Jawahar Novodaya Vidyalaya are from rural areas. The petitioners state that a written test was conducted and the petitioners came out successful as is evident from Ext.P1 rank list. 4. For obtaining the Rural area certificate, the petitioners submitted Exts.P3 to P5 applications before the 4th respondent. Their applications were **WP(C) NO. 24065 OF 2021** **4** rejected on the ground that the schools were not situated in a rural area. The Tahsildar was of the view that the schools are situated in urban areas and based his conclusion on the Census 2001 report. 5. The petitioners contend that the stand taken by the 4th respondent cannot be sustained in view of the law laid down by this Court in ## **James N.X. and Another v. District Collector, Ernakulam and Others** [2012(4) KHC 179]. In the said case, ‘Rural certificate’ was denied on the ground that as per the 2001 Census, the area where the school in which the student had studied was situated was an urban area. Interfering with the said order, a learned Single Judge of this Court, took note of the provisions of the Constitution of India, the Panchayat Raj Act and Census of India Act and Rules and concluded that the Census Act and the Rules framed thereunder cannot override the provisions of the Constitution and the Panchayat Raj Act with regard to the composition of Panchayats. It was also held that areas in a Panchayat notified under Section 10(3)(A) of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 will have to be construed as situated within a rural area. This Court, went on to hold that if an area is included within the limits of a Panchayat, which is a Constitutional Institution, that fact alone would be relevant and all the areas comprising different wards can only be considered as a “rural area”. The petitioners contend that the same view was reiterated by a learned Single Judge of this Court in W.P.(C) No.11682/2021 and later by another learned Single Judge in **Niranjana Prakash (minor) v. Ministry of Education and Others** [2021 (4) KHC 395]. It is in the above backdrop **WP(C) NO. 24065 OF 2021** **5** that the petitioners are before this Court seeking to quash the relevant portions of the remarks in Ext.P6 to P8 and for a further direction to the 5th respondent to issue ‘Rural certificate’ to the petitioners that they had studied classes III to V in schools located in rural areas in the respective grama panchayats. They also seek for a direction commanding the 4th respondent to admit the petitioners to the VI standard and for incidental reliefs. 6. I have heard Sri. U. Balagangadharan, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, Sri.N.K.Padmanabhan, the learned counsel who appears for respondents 1 to 4 and Sri. Bijoy Chandran, the learned senior Government Pleader. 7. Exts.P3 to P8 clearly reveals that the petitioners are in fact residing within the local limits of various Panchayats. The details of the location of the schools in which they had pursued their studies till now are also detailed therein. There is no case for the respondents that the area in which the schools are located is notified as a Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation. On the other hand, the area wherein the school is located is undisputedly within the local limits of the respective Panchayats. As held by this Court in **James** (supra), the provisions of the Census Act, 1948 and the Census Rules, 1990 will not override the provisions of the Constitution or the provisions of the Panchayat Raj Act with regard to the composition of Panchayats. A Panchayat is a unit of self Government that has been brought into effect for the purpose of rural areas and the process of delimitation are being carried out for the said purpose. The effect of Section **WP(C) NO. 24065 OF 2021** **6** 10(3)(A) of the Panchayat Raj Act is that once an order of delimitation is published, it will have the force of law for the purpose of Article 243 O (A) of the Constitution. In paragraph No. 6 of **James** ( supra) it was held as follows: In the light of the above, unless and until an area, even if it is having some urban character, is notified as a Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation, but is included in a Panchayat which is a constitutional institution, the same alone will be relevant. A compact area, viz. a rural area which is a territorial area of a Panchayat, even though it is divided by wards, there cannot be a sub classification or sub division of some parts for the purpose of rural character and some other parts for urban character, once the final notification has been issued constituting it as a Panchayat only. In the light of the above, all the areas comprising the different wards can be considered only as a 'rural area'. 8. The respondents have no case before this Court that the schools in which the petitioners had pursued their studies till Standard V have been categorised as an urban area. If that be the case, the petitioners are entitled to a rural area certificate in view of the law laid down in **James** (supra). Resultantly, this writ petition will stand allowed. There will be a direction to the 5th respondent to issue ‘Rural certificate’ to the petitioners certifying that the petitioners had pursued their class III to V in schools located in the rural area. The certificate shall be issued in any event within a period of two weeks from the date of production of a copy of this judgment. **WP(C) NO. 24065 OF 2021 7** The 4th respondent shall provisionally grant admission to the petitioners to the VI Standard if they are otherwise eligible, on condition that they shall produce the Rural area certificate within a period of four weeks from the date of admission. ## **Sd/-** **RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V JUDGE** ps **WP(C) NO. 24065 OF 2021** **8** ## **APPENDIX OF WP(C) 24065/2021** PETITIONERS' EXHIBITS: Exhibit P1 A TRUE COPY OF RELEVANT PAGES OF THE RANKED LIST DATED 24.9.2021 PUBLISHED BY THE FIRST RESPONDENT ALONG WITH TYPED COPY. Exhibit P2 A TRUE COPY OF THE COMMUNICATION DATED 1.10.2021 PROVIDED GENERALLY TO ALL CANDIDATES THROUGH THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE 1ST RESPONDENT. - Exhibit P3 A TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGE OF THE APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY THE 1ST PETITIONER. - Exhibit P4 A TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGE OF THE APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY THE 2ND PETITIONER. - Exhibit P5 A TRUE COPY OF THE RELEVANT PAGE OF THE APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY THE 3RD PETITIONER. - Exhibit P6 A TRUE COPY OF THE APPLICATION DATED 5.10.2021 WITH ENDORSEMENT OF THE VILLAGE OFFICER AND TAHSILDAR DATED 11.10.2021. - Exhibit P7 A TRUE COPY OF THE APPLICATION FOR RURAL CERTIFICATE CARRYING ENDORSEMENT OF THE VILLAGE OFFICER PIRAYARI DATED 6.10.2021. - Exhibit P8 A TRUE COPY OF LETTER OF REJECTION OF THE TAHSILDAR, PALAKKAD DATED 28.10.2021. - Exhibit P9 A TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT DATED 14.7.2021 IN NIRAJANA PRAKASH (MINOR) V. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & OTHERS REPORTED AS 2021 (4) KLT 591. RESPONDENTS' EXHIBITS: NIL