State agrees to delete caste column in forms

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 2

Haryana has agreed to delete the column of caste in forms prescribed under the Punjab Police Rules or Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.

Information to this effect was furnished in the Punjab and Haryana High Court during the hearing of a petition filed in public interest by advocate Hari Chand Arora.

He was seeking directions to Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh against mentioning caste or religion of the accused, victim or witnesses in recovery and seizure memos, FIRs, inquest papers and other forms prescribed under the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Punjab Police Rules.

A reply by Special Secretary, Home Department, stated that the government was of the view that mentioning caste or religion of the accused in forms was irrelevant and it was considering initiation of the process to delete these columns.

The state, at the same time, expressed difficulty in not mentioning caste in cases wherein the complainant mentioned the caste of accused in the FIR or in cases under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The petitioner had earlier stated that the requirement to state the caste was totally in conflict with the letter and spirit of provisions of the Constitution, including its basic structure.

He had added that the impugned provisions of the Punjab Police Rules were totally outdated and were made before the Constitution came into force. As such, these were not in tune with the letter and spirit of the Constitution, he said.

The impugned provisions were also not in accordance with provisions contained in the parent statute, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, he said. He suggested that alternative forms of identification like Aadhaar card, house number or ward number of accused, witness or victim could be used by officers.