The Kerala High Court has directed authorities to regularise the appointment of a woman who was selected under the “mixed marriage” reservation category, holding that an inter-religion marriage must also be considered while extending benefits under the category.
Justice Harisankar V. Menon passed the judgment on September 15, 2026, in W.P.(C) No. 36236 of 2022. The Court held that the certificates produced by the petitioner established that she belonged to the Christian religion while her husband belonged to the Hindu religion.
The petitioner, Jisha Thomas, had been appointed as a farm employee under the reservation category “മിശ്ര വിവാഹിത” pursuant to an appointment order issued in October 2022.
She was required to produce documents supporting her eligibility for the reservation benefit. She relied on an earlier certificate issued by the Tahsildar in 2007, which recorded her marriage to Nishu Soman as an inter-caste marriage.
When the authorities insisted on a recent certificate, she applied for another certificate. Initially, the Tahsildar declined the request on the ground that the petitioner and her husband belonged to different religions and therefore their marriage could not be treated as an inter-caste marriage. A subsequent certificate, however, recorded that her husband belonged to the Hindu religion under the Pulaya category, while the petitioner belonged to the Christian religion under the Roman Catholic category.
The certificate was still not accepted by the concerned authority. During the proceedings, the High Court had earlier directed that the certificate be accepted provisionally and permitted the petitioner to take charge of her post, subject to the final outcome of the case. She subsequently joined duty, but her appointment had not been regularised.
The State authorities relied upon Clause 246 of the Village Office Manual and argued that only an inter-caste marriage certificate could be issued. It was also contended that a marriage between persons belonging to different religions could not qualify for such a certificate.
The High Court, however, focused on the category under which the petitioner had actually been appointed. Justice Harisankar V. Menon observed:
“since the petitioner’s appointment is under the category of ‘മിശ്ര വിവാഹിത’, the benefits thereunder require to be extended on the basis of Exts.P5 as well as P8 since those certificates certify that the petitioner belongs to the Christian religion and her husband belongs to the Hindu religion. In the opinion of this Court, an inter-religion marriage also requires to be taken note of while considering the entitlement pursuant to the benefits considered and extended pursuant to Ext.P4 order.”
The High Court disposed of the writ petition and directed the fifth respondent to regularise Jisha Thomas’s appointment on the basis of the certificates produced by her.
The Court also directed that the consequential benefits arising from regularisation be extended to her forthwith.
Case Title: Jisha Thomas v. State of Kerala & Ors.
Case Number: W.P.(C) No. 36236 of 2022
