‘GoM evolving policy on issuing income certificate to EWS’

CHENNAI: A group of senior Ministers were in the process of evolving a policy decision on the issuance of issuance of income certificates to people belonging to the economically weaker sections (EWS) in Tamil Nadu, the State government informed the Madras High Court on Tuesday.

Advocate General Vijay Narayan made the submission before a division bench comprising Justice R Subbiah and Justice Krishnan Ramasamy on a plea moved by Akhila Bharatha Brahmin Association and others challenging a recent Revenue Department order not to issue income or assets certificates to EWS, which is required to avail reservation benefits.

Pointing out that the erstwhile Commissioner of Revenue Administration had, independently without consulting the government, issued a circular directing tahsildars to issue the certificates to EWS category people, the Advocate General said the present Commissioner, after consultation with the government, had on June 4 withdrawn the previous circular.

Now the issue was before the group of senior ministers for a policy decision, and that the court would be informed about the decision taken by the Group of Ministers on July 13. Recording the submission, the bench posted the matter for further hearing to the said date.

Akhila Bharatha Brahmin Association had submitted that the Commissioner of Revenue Administration had on June 4 issued an order directing the District Collectors to instruct the tahsildars not to issue income certificates or assets certificates to economically weaker sections either online or manually.

The State government had issued a circular to all the district authorities to issue income and assets certifications to the EWS on May 4, 2019. But the circular had been withdrawn now, resulting in the EWS category being unable to apply for any posts under the 10 per cent quota in the Central government jobs and admission to educational institution provided through the 103rd Constitutional amendment, petitioners contended.

Based on this, they sought the court to declare the impugned circular unconstitutional and quash it.