Delhi HC directs issuance of caste certificate to minor despite absence of father’s documents [Read Judgment]

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has delivered a significant judgment protecting the rights of children from broken families by directing authorities to issue a caste certificate to a minor whose father had abandoned the family, emphasizing that children should not suffer due to their fathers’ absence.

Justice Sanjeev Narula made crucial observations while addressing a writ petition filed by a minor through his mother seeking issuance of a Scheduled Caste certificate.

Delhi HC Ensures Caste Certificate Rights for Children of Abandoned Families

The court noted, “To insist on a judicial separation order or a divorce decree is to insist on form over substance, ignoring the lived truth of a deserted family unit. Children should not be penalized because their father chose abandonment over legal finality.”

Addressing the authorities’ stance, the court observed, “In cases where women from Scheduled Caste community have been separated on account of desertion or abandonment by their husbands, their children cannot be made to suffer simply because their fathers have failed to provide them support and recognition.”

The case involved a minor whose father had abandoned the family in 2009, never returning to resume family life. Although the father had filed for divorce in 2011, he ceased participating in the proceedings, leading to the petition’s dismissal. The mother had also filed an FIR against the father under Sections 498A, 406, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

Landmark Judgment: Minor Granted Caste Certificate Without Father’s Documents

The Court directed that: “Within two weeks of receiving this representation, the Respondent shall examine the Petitioner’s case on its merits. In doing so, they shall not reject the application solely on the basis that the Petitioner’s mother lacks a formal decree of divorce or judicial separation.”
Mr. Raghavendra Mohan Bajaj and Ms. Shagun Agarwal appeared for the petitioner.

Mr. Prashant Manchanda, ASC with Ms. Nancy Shah and Ms. Isha Baloni appeared for the Government of NCT of Delhi.

Case title: Deep Minor through Next Friend versus Government of NCT of Delhi
 

[Read Judgment]