The Hon’ble Kerala High Court on 29th July 2021 ruled that citizens born outside the state who are socially adapted to the state’s norms and values are entitled to a nativity certificate, which they can use to obtain educational and other privileges normally reserved for natives.
In this case, the issue before the Hon’ble Bench was that whether the rejection of application for grant of nativity certificate on the sole ground that place of birth of applicant is not Kerala is valid/Justified or not.
The Hon’ble bench comprising Justice P.B. Suresh Kumar observed by fortifying his decision with Judgement of Madras high court in M. Goutham v. Secretary/Addl. DME that “If a person is socially adapted to the prevailing system of norms and values in the State, then he/she shall be considered as a person belonging to such State and accordingly shall be granted nativity certificate regardless of the place of birth of the person concerned. Further, a person merely because he is born in the state cannot be treated as belonging to place when he is not socially adapted to the society in that place.”
It is further clarified regarding the provision of Kerala Land Revenue Manual on which the government pleader argued that the provision prescribes only birth as the sole criterion for the grant of nativity certificate and “Nativity Certificate can be issued if the couple after their marriage has been residing in the State.”
In the instant case, a petitioner who is born in Tamil Nadu and whose parents were born in Tamil Nadu applied for grant of nativity certificate to respective authority and the same was rejected on the ground that neither the petitioner nor her parents were born in Kerala which is prerequisite for the grant of nativity certificate according to Kerala Land Revenue Manual. But it is evident from the facts that the petitioner’s father has been residing in Kerala since 1994 and the petitioner too has been brought up in Kerala and did her schooling and graduated from the same state and the materials bought before the court indicate that the petitioner is a person who is socially adapted to the norms and values of state of Kerala.
