In a pivotal turn of events, the highest court of the land has issued a sweeping directive, proclaiming that references to caste or religion of the involved parties are strictly prohibited in any submissions filed before the courts.
This groundbreaking ruling comes after a bench comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah presided over a transfer petition concerning a familial dispute. The court, displeased by the inclusion of the litigants’ caste in the case memorandum, asserted that this practice must be unequivocally abandoned.
“There is no justification for disclosing the caste or religion of any litigant, whether before this Court or any lower courts. This practice must be unequivocally abandoned and ceased immediately,” the court declared.
The court ensured prompt compliance with its edict by ordering the immediate circulation of this directive to the respective Registrar Generals of all High Courts. The directive explicitly stated that the ban on disclosing caste or religious affiliations applies, regardless of whether such details had been presented before the lower courts.
The petitioner’s counsel, representing the wife in the family dispute, argued that altering the memorandum of parties filed in lower courts would be met with objections from the registry. The counsel further contended that since the caste details were already presented in the court below, the mention in the transfer petition was a result of necessity.
The court, in response, clarified that its directive applied universally, irrespective of previous mentions in lower courts.
The court’s statement read, “It is deemed appropriate to issue a general order henceforth, instructing that the caste or religion of parties should not be mentioned in the memorandum of parties in any petition or proceeding filed before this Court. This directive extends to all High Courts, ensuring that the caste or religion of a litigant remains absent from the memorandum of parties in any petition, suit, or proceeding filed before the High Court or Subordinate Courts under their respective jurisdictions.”
This landmark decision follows a precedent set in October of the previous year, where a bench led by Justice Abhay SA. Oka had criticized the practice of mentioning the caste or religion of a party in the cause title of judgments, citing the case of SHAMA SHARMA v. KISHAN KUMAR, TRANSFER PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 1957 OF 2023.
