The Supreme Court of India in its recent order has issued a general directive, instructing all courts across the nation to cease the practice of including the caste or religion of litigants in case papers.

The directive came following a case involving a marital dispute pending before a family court in Rajasthan, wherein the caste of both parties was mentioned in the memo of the parties. Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, presiding over the bench, expressed unequivocal disapproval of this practice, emphasizing that such details hold no relevance to the legal proceedings and must be expunged immediately.

In the process of transferring the case to a family court in Punjab, the Supreme Court expressed surprise upon discovering that both parties' castes were noted in the case documents. 

The advocate representing the petitioner explained that mentioning the caste was necessary as it had been included in the papers filed at the family court. Failure to include this detail in the Supreme Court filings could have led to objections from the court registry due to inconsistencies with the family court documents.

The Court went on to clarify that regardless of prior inclusion, caste or religion details should not be mentioned in any petition, suit, or proceeding submitted before the apex court or lower courts.

Furthermore, the Court also highlighted the importance of disseminating these directives to all stakeholders within the legal fraternity, including lawyers and court registries, to ensure prompt compliance.

Advocates Aniket Jain, Vidyut Kayarkar, and Umang Shankar, representing the petitioner in the transfer petition, brought attention to the necessity of adhering to these guidelines to uphold the principles of fairness and equality before the law.

In a related development, a separate bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal criticized the mention of caste details in a judgment from the Rajasthan High Court, emphasizing that such information holds no bearing on the merits of the case and should be omitted from judicial records forthwith.

Case: Shama Sharma vs. Kishan Kumar,

TRANSFER PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 1957 OF 2023.

Click to read/download judgment.