The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court has ordered restoration of the SC community certificate to a woman who was married to a Christian. The certificate was cancelled by the Ramanathapuram District Collector in 2013.

"The cancellation of the community certificate shows the degree of narrow-mindedness that the constitution does not encourage," said a division bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice M Duraiswamy on Wednesday, October 6 as they ordered the Ramanathapuram district administration to immediately restore the community certificate issued to the woman.

Noting that the certificate was cancelled because the woman, who is also a doctor, married a Christian, and their children were recognised as members of the Christian community, the bench observed that there was no confusion in that the petitioner belongs to the Hindu Pallan community and that she was born to Hindu Pallan parents.

The court came out strongly against the counter affidavit filed by the Ramanathapuram district authorities, who claimed that on their visit to her clinic they had found a 'cross' hanging there and that they presumed that she had converted to Christianity. The judges said that the authorities were bringing in specious arguments and that the court would not agree to such a defence.

The court also said that if she visits the church during Sunday mass along with her husband and children, this does not mean that she had converted to Christianity. It said that there was no suggestion in the affidavit that the woman had embraced Christianity, as it set aside the order passed by the Ramanathapuram Collector in 2013.