Andhra Pradesh High Court - Amravati
Tirupati Srikanth vs The State Of Andhra Pradesh on 6 November, 2025
Author: R Raghunandan Rao
Bench: R Raghunandan Rao
1
HCJ & RRR,J
W.P.No.18644& 23531of 2025
APHC010367662025
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH
AT AMARAVATI [3446]
(Special Original Jurisdiction)
THURSDAY,THE SIXTH DAY OF NOVEMBER
TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE
PRESENT
HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE DHIRAJ SINGH THAKUR
THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE R RAGHUNANDAN RAO
WRIT PETITION NOs: 18644 & 23531 of 2025
Between:
Komari Venkatesh, ...PETITIONER
AND
The State Of Andhra Pradesh and Others ...RESPONDENT(S)
Counsel for the Petitioner:
1. G VENKATA REDDY Counsel for the Respondent(S):
1. K RADHIKA
2. ADDL ADVOCATE GENERAL
3. TATA VENKATA SRIDEVI,STANDING COUNSEL FOR DR.NTR UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES WRIT PETITION NO: 23531/2025 Between:
Tirupati Srikanth ...PETITIONER
AND
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HCJ & RRR,J
W.P.No.18644& 23531of 2025
The State Of Andhra Pradesh and Others ...RESPONDENT(S)
Counsel for the Petitioner:
1. G VENKATA REDDY
Counsel for the Respondent(S):
1. GP FOR REVENUE
2. GP FOR SOCIAL WELFARE
3. TATA VENKATA SRIDEVI,STANDING COUNSEL FOR DR.NTR UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES The Court made the following Common Order:
(per Hon'ble Sri Justice R. Raghunandan Rao) 3 HCJ & RRR,J W.P.No.18644& 23531of 2025 Heard Sri G. Venkata Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned Additional Advocate General for respondents 1 to 5.
2. Before going into the facts of the present case, the history, relating to the inclusion of the Beda (Budaga) Jangam Community in the list of Schedule Castes, has to be reviewed.
3. The Beda (Budaga) Jangam Caste was included in the list of Schedule Castes of the erstwhile Hyderabad State. After the merger of the Hyderabad State and Andhra Pradesh State resulting in the combined State of Andhra Pradesh, this community was notified in the list of Schedule Castes, pertaining to the State of Andhra Pradesh, in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes list (Modification) Order, 1956. However, the status of this community, as a Schedule Caste community, was restricted to the inhabitants of the 10 Districts of Telangana region. Subsequently, this restriction, imposed on the community, was removed by the Schedule Caste and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, 1976. By virtue of this amendment, members of this community were entitled to community certificates, certifying that they belong to a Schedule Caste community anywhere in the State of Andhra Pradesh.
4. After sometime, a resolution was passed by the council of ministers of the State of Andhra Pradesh on 15.05.1985, seeking re-imposition of the earlier restriction and to restrict the status of this community, as a Schedule Caste community, to the Telangana region. This step is said to have 4 HCJ & RRR,J W.P.No.18644& 23531of 2025 been taken on account of various complaints of misuse by members of other communities to claim membership of this community and to obtain Schedule Caste certificates.
5. On the basis of the aforesaid resolution of the council of ministers, the Government of India had notified the (Schedule Caste) Orders (2nd Amendment) Act, 2002. By virtue of this notification, area restriction was re-imposed, and certificates, certifying that members of this community, belong to a Schedule Caste community was restricted to the Telangana Districts, in the State of Andhra Pradesh.
6. The Government of Andhra Pradesh, consequently issued G.O.Ms.No.144 Social Welfare (CV-I) Department, dated 17.07.2008. By virtue of this Government Order, Schedule Caste certificates could be given, in relation to this community, only within the Telangana region.
7. After the reorganization of the State of Andhra Pradesh, in 2014, Section 28 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014 read with the 5th schedule to the said Act set out the list of communities which would be treated as Schedule Caste communities in the State of Andhra Pradesh. The Beda (Budaga), Jangam Caste was not included in this list and consequently no member in this community can be certified to be a Schedule Caste person in the State of Andhra Pradesh.
8. The members of this community, had agitated against their exclusion in the 5th schedule. In fact, even prior to the reorganization of the 5 HCJ & RRR,J W.P.No.18644& 23531of 2025 State, they had been agitating against their exclusion by the Amendment Act of 2002 and consequent G.O.Ms.No.144. On account of their representations and grievances, the State Government had constituted a one-man commission to consider the inclusion of this community in the list of Schedule Castes in the State of Andhra Pradesh. The Commission submitted its report, on 15.06.2020, recommending that the State Government should send a proposal to the Government of India to include this community again in the list of Schedule Castes in Andhra Pradesh. Certain other recommendations, which are not relevant for the purpose of this case, also appear to have been made. The State Government, on the basis of the recommendation of the one- man Commission, had addressed letters to the Government of India to include this community in the list of Schedule Castes notified for the State of Andhra Pradesh. It appears that there have been various communications between the State Government and the Central Government, in this regard, and a decision is awaited from the Central Government.
9. The petitioner, who is a resident of Nandikotkur, Nandyala claims to be a member of the Beda (Budaga), Jangam community. He contends that his father had been granted a caste certificate under the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and backward Classes Regulation of issue of Community Certificate Act, 1993 certifying him as a member of a Schedule Caste community, on 30.11.2003. It is contended that this caste certificate subsists even today. The petitioner who is now seeking admission, to the MBBS course for the academic yea 2025-2026, has 6 HCJ & RRR,J W.P.No.18644& 23531of 2025 approached this Court for a direction to the respondent authorities to consider his application for admission to the MBBS course, on the basis of his merit/rank secured in NEET (UG) -2025 and A.P EAMCET-2025 examination, under the Schedule Caste category, on the basis of the caste certificate held by his father.
10. The petitioner relies upon the judgment of a learned single Judge of the erstwhile High Court of Andhra Pradesh dated 08.07.2013 in W.P.No.18807 of 2008 & batch. The petitioner would also rely upon the orders of a Division Bench of the erstwhile High Court of Judicature of Hyderabad for the State of Telangana and the State of Andhra Pradesh, dated 02.07.2018 in W.P.No.20882 of 2018. In this judgment, the Division Bench was considering the question of whether a fresh caste certificate can be sought, from the petitioner therein, that he belongs to Beda (Budaga), Jangam community, which is classified as a Schedule Caste community, though he already holds a caste certificate, issued on 29.01.2004. The Division Bench disposed of the writ petition directing the respondents to accept the caste certificate produced by the petitioner therein as long as it was not cancelled by any authority. This judgment deals with a situation which may not be relevant for the present case.
11. A learned single Judge, of the erstwhile High Court of Andhra Pradesh, in his judgment, dated 08.07.2013, in W.P.No.18807 of 2008, was dealing with the question of whether the introduction of the restriction as to 7 HCJ & RRR,J W.P.No.18644& 23531of 2025 area, brought in by the 2nd amendment Act of 2002 could result in cancellation of certificates which had been granted earlier, in areas which now stand excluded by virtue of the amendment. The learned Single Judge took the view that the subsequent amendment cannot take away the benefits granted under a certificate unless such a certificate is cancelled in terms of the certificate Act. The learned Single Judge took the view that since no such cancellation had been done, the status of the petitioners therein would stand unaffected until such certificates are cancelled. With a due respect, we do not think that this judgment goes into the issue before us in the present case.
12. The learned Additional Advocate General appearing for the respondents contends that no community certificate, certifying the community status of the petitioner as a person belonging to a Schedule Caste community can be issued in view of the restrictions placed by the 2nd Amendment Act of 2002. He would submit that the possession of a certificate by the father of the petitioner, cannot enure to the benefit of the petitioner. He would further submit that in W.P.No.20219 of 2020 filed, before this Court, in similar circumstances, the petitioner, in the writ petition, had been allotted a seat in the engineering course in Madhya Pradesh but her seat was cancelled as she could not produce a caste certificate. Thereupon, the petitioner had approached this Court on the ground that she was not being granted a community certificate despite the fact that both her mother and grandfather had been issued such certificates and those certificates remained valid. An 8 HCJ & RRR,J W.P.No.18644& 23531of 2025 interim direction had been granted, in that case, to permit her to continue, and on the basis of the caste certificates given to the mother and grandfather of the petitioner, without insisting for a community certificate. This interim order, dated 05.11.2020, came to be challenged before the Division Bench of this Court in W.P.No.389 of 2020. The Division Bench after considering the omission of this community in the A.P State Reorganization Act, 2014 had set- aside the interim order on the ground that no certificates can be granted to members of this community, in the State of Andhra Pradesh till the community is included in the Schedule Caste category in the State of Andhra Pradesh. The Writ Petition also came to be dismissed, subsequently, by an order, dated 27.07.2021, by a learned single Judge of this Court. A similar order was also passed in W.A.No.390 of 2020.
13. It is clear, from a conspectus of the above facts, that the Beda (Budaga), Jangam community was treated as a Schedule Caste community in the combined State of Andhra Pradesh, without any restriction, regarding the area, for a certain period of time and the same was subsequently restricted to the Telangana area from 2002. Similarly, the omission of the name of this community, in the 5th Schedule of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, effectively forecloses any claim of the members of this community for grant of a caste certificate certifying that the members of this community belong to a Schedule Caste community. However, such a status could revive, 9 HCJ & RRR,J W.P.No.18644& 23531of 2025 if the Central Government, were to include this community in the list of Schedule Caste communities.
14. As such an inclusion has not yet been carried out, the petitioner cannot claim the status of a member of a Schedule Caste community as of now. Accordingly, W.P.No.18644 of 2025 is dismissed.
15. In view of the fact that W.P.No.23531 of 2025 is covered in W.P.No.18644 of 2025, W.P.No.23531 of 2025 is also dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs.
As a sequel, pending miscellaneous petitions, if any, shall stand closed.
________________________ _______________________
DHIRAJ SINGH THAKUR, CJ R. RAGHUNANDAN RAO, J
RJS
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HCJ & RRR,J
W.P.No.18644& 23531of 2025
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE DHIRAJ SINGH THAKUR, CHIEF JUSTICE & HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE R. RAGHUNANDAN RAO WRIT PETITION No.18644 & 23531 of 2025 (per Hon'ble Sri Justice R. Raghunandan Rao) Dated: 06 .11.2025 RJS 11 HCJ & RRR,J W.P.No.18644& 23531of 2025 12 HCJ & RRR,J W.P.No.18644& 23531of 2025