Don’t mention caste or religion of litigants: Supreme Court directs courts to avoid doing so

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered all courts to avoid mentioning caste or religion of litigants in court cases.

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, while allowing the transfer petition in a matrimonial dispute before the Rajasthan Family Court, took note of the memorandum between the parties. Expressed surprise to the caste of husband and wife.

Thereafter, the Supreme Court directed all high courts to ensure that the caste or religion of a litigant does not appear in the party memorandum in any petition filed before the high court or subordinate court under their jurisdiction.

“We see no reason to refer to the caste/religion of any litigant before this Court or the courts below. Such practice should be avoided and must be stopped forthwith. Therefore, it is considered appropriate to pass a general order directing that henceforth the parties shall not The caste or religion of the parties has been mentioned in the memorandum of the parties in the petition/proceedings filed before this Court whether or not any such details have been furnished to the Court below,” the bench said.

The counsel for the petitioner informed the court that if the memoranda submitted by the parties to the lower court were altered in any way, the Registry would raise objections and in the present case, since the caste of both parties was mentioned below by the court, he had no option but to can mention their caste in their transfer application.

The Supreme Court directed that its orders should be notified to members of the Bar and the Registry for immediate compliance. “A copy of the order shall be submitted to the Registrar concerned for perusal and circulated to the Registrar General of all High Courts for strict compliance,” the bench said.

(with PTI input)