Change of religion does not change one’s caste !

Bombay High Court's Nagpur Bench rules

Mumbai – The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has ruled that changing one’s religion does not change one’s caste. Setting aside the order of the Scrutiny Committee, the Court stated that a person’s caste by birth does not change because of their religion.

1. Prachi Sudhir Netke (20), an engineering student from Amravati, had filed a petition seeking a caste validity certificate for the Vani community, which falls under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. However, the Divisional Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee rejected her claim on the ground that her school leaving certificate recorded her caste as ‘Saitwal Jain’. The Committee also stated that ‘Jain Vani’ was not included in the State’s OBC list. Prachi Netke then approached the High Court.

2. A Division Bench comprising Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Justice Nivedita Mehta heard the matter and set aside the Committee’s order. The Court observed that importance had been given to the reference to religion in the school leaving certificate, while other evidence had been ignored.

3. The report of the Vigilance Cell had also clearly established that Prachi Netke’s family belonged to the Vani community. The Court emphasised that although the family follows the Jain religion, this does not change their caste by birth. The Court then directed the concerned Committee to issue Prachi Netke a caste validity certificate for the Vani community within four weeks.