Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to immediately cease the practice of mentioning the caste of an accused in police records, describing the practice as a “legal fallacy” that “undermines constitutional morality” and poses a serious challenge to constitutional democracy.
The direction was passed by Justice Vinod Diwakar while hearing a criminal case related to liquor smuggling.
In its judgment on September 16, the court described the practice as a “legal fallacy” and an act of “identity profiling” that “undermines constitutional morality” and poses a “serious challenge to constitutional democracy.”
The court directed the Uttar Pradesh government to overhaul its police documentation procedures by removing all columns and entries pertaining to the caste of accused persons, informants, and witnesses from official forms.
“Recording the caste of the accused as Mali, Pahadi, Rajput, Thakur, Punjabi Parashar and Brahmin in the impugned FIR and seizure memo serves no lawful or legitimate purpose. What is truly unfortunate is that, rather than recommending a
departmental inquiry or ensuring the officer undergoes sensitisation on constitutional morality and social concerns, the conduct was defended on vague and unsustainable grounds,” the court said. agencies