The Bapatla district administration announced the cancellation of three Scheduled Caste (SC) certificates issued to Chintada Anand, son of Ramulu, a pastor and a resident of Pittalavanipalem mandal, following recommendations by the District Level Scrutiny Committee (DLSC).

The Committee re-examined the caste certificate of the pastor following the Supreme Court’s recent orders on the status of a Hindu Scheduled Caste person converting his religion to Christianity and practicing the religion, while holding the SC status.

According to an Extraordinary Gazette notification issued by the Bapatla district administration on Saturday (May 23, 2026), District Collector and Magistrate Dr. Vinod Kumar V. ordered the cancellation of the caste certificates issued in favour of Chintada Anand, with immediate effect.

The notification stated that the action was taken under the provisions of Section 5 of the Andhra Pradesh (Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes) Regulation of Issue of Community Certificates Act, 1993, read with Rule 9(7) of the Andhra Pradesh SC, ST and BC Issue of Community, Nativity and Date of Birth Certificates Rules, 1997.

The cancelled documents include a manual caste certificate issued on March 15, 2021, and two integrated caste certificates issued on October 22, 2022, and February 28, 2025, respectively, by the Tahsildar of Pittalavanipalem mandal.

The district gazette notification, approved by the District Collector under official proceedings dated May 23, 2026, noted that the cancellations were based on the recommendations of the District Level Scrutiny Committee, Bapatla. The order came into force with immediate effect, the notification added.