Section 5 in Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes - Issue of Community, Nativity and Date of Birth Certificates Rules, 1997
5. Procedure for Verification.
(a)On receipt of the application, the Competent Authority or any officer authorised by him in this regard shall ensure that the applicant has furnished complete information in all the columns of Form I/II and; shall then give the acknowledgement slip as appended to Form I/II, in token of having received the application. The Competent Authority shall then verify the information/documents/ evidence furnished by the applicant/parent/guardian in Form I/II. If the Competent Authority is satisfied with the correctness of the information/documents/evidence furnished by the applicant/parent/ guardian, he shall issue the Community, Nativity and Date of Birth Certificates in Form III within 30 (thirty) days of the receipt of the application in Form I/II. The Competent Authority shall specify in Form III the sub-caste of the SC claimant and the sub-tribe/sub-group of the ST claimant as listed out in Annexure I appended to these Rules.(b)If the Competent Authority feels that further enquiry is necessary, he shall then examine the school records, birth registration certificate, if any, and also examine the parent/guardian or applicant, in relation to his/her/their community He may examine any other person who has the knowledge of the social status of the applicant/parent/guardian, as the case may be. He shall take into account, in the case of Scheduled Tribes, their anthropological and ethnological traits, deity, rituals, customs, mode of marriage, death ceremonies/method of burial of dead bodies etc., before issuing the Community, Nativity and Date of Birth Certificates. The Competent Authority shall have power to call for further information and/or collect such evidence/document and also conduct such enquiry as specified in the Form IV, if deemed necessary, Notice in Form IV should be issued to the parent/guardian, in case the applicant is a minor, to appear before the Competent Authority.(c)The notice as specified in Form IV should give clear 15 (fifteen) days, from the date of the receipt of the notice by the parent/ applicant/guardian, to attend the enquiry. In no case, not more than 30 (thirty) days from the date of the receipt of the notice, should be allowed.(d)Where the person on whom a notice in Form IV is served by the Competent Authority fails to respond on the date mentioned therein, the Competent Authority may reject or confirm the claim of the person based on the document/evidence available with the Competent Authority (furnished while applying in Form I/II). He may also take into account any other material/evidence/documents gathered by him in that particular case. The Competent Authority shall cause enquiry, following due process of law, to verify the genuineness or otherwise of the information/evidence/documents furnished or recorded, from such persons as called for in the enquiry specified in Form IV. He may also cause to collect any other documentary or related evidence about the genuineness or otherwise of the information furnished by the persons called for in the enquiry.(e)The Competent Authority should give reasonable opportunity to the applicant/parent/guardian to produce evidence in support of their claim. A public notice by the beat of drum or any other convenient mode may be published in the village or locality to which the applicant/parent/guardian belongs. If any person or association opposes such a claim, opportunity to produce the evidence in person before the Competent Authority may be given to him or her. After giving such an opportunity to that person or association the Competent Authority may make such enquiry as it deems expedient and consider claims of the applicant/guardian/parent vis-a-vis the objections raised by his/her/their opponent.(f)The Competent Authority shall requisition the services of Mandal Revenue Inspector, Village Development Officer, Village Administrative Officer or such other persons as deemed necessary, to assist him in the enquiry to verify the veracity or otherwise of the community claims made by the applicant/parent/guardian. However the responsibility for issue or rejection of the claim shall rest on the Competent Authority only.(g)In respect of the tribal communities who are not "traditional inhabitants" of the area of territorial jurisdiction of the "Competent Authority", as specified in column 3 of Annexure I appended to these Rules, the Competent Authority shall make a reference to the District Tribunal Welfare Officer concerned to provide such professional assistance as available with him or with the Tribal Cultural Research Institute, Hyderabad, to confirm or reject the claim of the applicant.(h)The Competent Authority shall confirm or reject the claim for the Community, Nativity and Date of Birth Certificate, after conducting the enquiry as mentioned in the paras above, within a period not exceeding 60 (sixty) days from the date of receipt of the application by him in Form I/II.(i)The Competent Authority in the cases of doubtful claims, shall refer the matter to the Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee formed at the District level under Rule 8 i.e. Joint Collector of the District, for the recommendations of the Committee, with regard to the issue of the Community, Nativity and Date of Birth Certificate as applied for by the applicant. On receipt of the recommendations of the Scrutiny Committee, the Competent Authority shall accordingly confirm or reject the claims of the applicants.
