Jahanvi Agarwal
The Supreme Court has expressed surprise over the mentioning of caste and religion of the parties in the case details, saying such a practice must be shunned and ceased forthwith in all courts of the country.
The directive extends to all High Courts, emphasizing that the caste or religion of litigants should not be indicated in the memo of parties in petitions submitted to these courts.
Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah of the division bench unequivocally ordered an immediate end to this practice, stating, “Practice should be shunned and stopped immediately.”
The order asserts, “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.” This decision emerged during the consideration of a transfer petition related to a marital dispute in a Rajasthan family court. The Supreme Court expressed surprise that the caste of both parties was disclosed in the memo of the parties.
The counsel for the petitioner explained the procedural challenge of modifying the memo of parties due to objections raised by the Registry, resulting in the caste details being mentioned in the transfer petition. The Supreme Court’s order explicitly directs that this new directive be communicated to the legal community and the Registry for immediate compliance.
The bench specified, “A copy of this order shall be placed before the Registrar concerned for perusal and for circulation to the Registrar Generals of all the High Courts for strict compliance.”