• Source:JND
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The Uttar Pradesh government has issued an order banning caste references in all public spheres, including vehicle stickers, signboards, political rallies, and police documents such as FIRs, following the Allahabad High Court's verdict that described the glorification of caste as 'anti-national' and violative of constitutional morality.

Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar issued an official order instructing all departments to ensure no mention of castes is made in FIRs, arrest memos, or other police documents.

The departments have been instructed to use parents' names for identification instead. In his order, Kumar also instructed to remove caste symbols, slogans and references from the police station noticeboards immediately.

The police will actively monitor social media to ensure no violation takes place and prudent action is taken in case of non-compliance.

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Although the exemption would apply in cases filed under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, where caste identification remains a legal necessity, the government clarified.

Allahabad HC pulls up govt, DGP

Last week, the Allahabad High Court issued a strong-worded order directing the state government to regulate the caste glorification and prohibit caste mention in police records and public spheres.

The Bench of Justice Vinod Diwaker, in its order of September 16, asked the govt to curb caste emblems, slogans and rallies.

"In India, there are castes. The castes are anti-national. In the first place, they bring about separation in social life. They are anti-national also because they generate jealousy and antipathy between caste and caste....." the Court quoted Dr Ambedkar.

The court gave the verdict while hearing a petition under Section 482 CrPC, in which it noted that the accused's castes were mentioned in the FIR and other related documents.

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The court observed, "Writing or declaring the caste of an accused- without legal relevance amounts to identity profiling, not objective investigation. It reinforces prejudice, corrupts public opinion, contaminates judicial thinking, violates fundamental rights, and undermines constitutional morality".

The court also pulled up the state DGP by calling him 'an ivory-tower policeman,' detached from constitutional morality, and eventually retired merely as a bureaucrat in uniform, according to a report by The Hindu.

"In the Court’s view, the DGP, coming from a third-world background, appears to have little exposure to the complex realities of Indian society and the demands of professional policing," it said.