Stop seeking caste, religion of litigants in case files: SC

The bench took strong exception to the practice prevailing in some states where litigants are required to mention their caste and religion in court documents

No court in India shall ask litigants to specify their caste or religion in judicial proceedings, the Supreme Court has ordered, emphasising that “such a practice is to be shunned and must be ceased forthwith”.

The court’s attention to the contentious practice was drawn during the hearing of a transfer petition in a marital dispute pending before a family court in Rajasthan (ANI)

A bench of justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah took strong exception to the practice prevailing in some states where litigants are required to mention their caste and religion in court documents.

“We see no reason for mentioning the caste/religion of any litigant either before this Court or the courts below. Such a practice is to be shunned and must be ceased forthwith,” held the bench.

Starting with the Supreme Court, the bench then directed its registry to ascertain no such details of litigants remain on the case files produced before the judges for hearing.

“It is therefore deemed appropriate to pass a general order directing that henceforth the caste or religion of parties shall not be mentioned in the memo of parties of a petition/proceeding filed before this Court, irrespective of whether any such details have been furnished before the courts below,” said the bench in a recent order.

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The top court then proceeded to ensure the high courts and district judiciary align their procedures accordingly. “A direction is also issued to all the high courts to ensure that the caste/religion of a litigant does not appear in the memo of parties in any petition/suit/proceeding filed before the high court or the subordinate courts under their respective jurisdictions,” said the order.

Its directions must also be brought to the notice of the members of the Bar as well as the registry for immediate compliance, the judges said. “A copy of this order shall be placed before the registrar concerned (in the Supreme Court) for perusal and for circulation to the registrar generals of all the high courts for strict compliance,” directed the bench.

The court’s attention to the contentious practice was drawn during the hearing of a transfer petition in a marital dispute pending before a family court in Rajasthan.

While permitting the transfer of the case to a court in Punjab at the instance of the wife, the Supreme Court was dismayed to notice that the caste of both the husband and wife had been mentioned in the memo of the parties, besides their other details.

When asked, the lawyer appearing for the woman informed the bench that he had no choice but to mention the caste of the couple in the case papers filed before the Supreme Court, since these details had been mentioned in the case papers filed before the family court. The lawyer explained that had he failed to mention this detail in the transfer petition filed before the Supreme Court, he would have risked facing objections from the top court’s registry for discrepancies in the case details.

The Supreme Court then specifically ordered that the caste or religion of parties to a case will not be mentioned in the top court regardless of whether such details were mentioned before the courts below, besides communicating its disapproval of the practice to all the 25 high courts in the country.