Child Of Inter-Caste Parents, Raised Alone By Backward-Caste Parent Can Be Considered 'Backward' Only If He Faced Caste Bias: Bombay HC
The Bombay High Court has dismissed a student's plea seeking a caste validity certificate under the Scheduled Caste category based on his mother's caste, holding that there was no material to show he suffered any discrimination, deprivation, or disadvantage to warrant such recognition.
A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Dr. Neela Gokhale was hearing a writ petition filed by Sujal Mangala Birwadkar challenging the order dated April 15, 2024, passed by the District Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee, which had rejected his claim for recognition as belonging to the Chambhar (SC) community.
The petitioner was born to a Hindu Agri father (a non-SC caste) and a Chambhar mother. His parents divorced in 2016, and he thereafter adopted his mother's surname and identified himself as Chambhar in subsequent school records. The competent authority issued him a Chambhar caste certificate in 2023, which was then referred for verification. The Scrutiny Committee rejected the claim, finding that the petitioner had not suffered any disadvantage or social exclusion due to his mother's caste status.
Referring to the division bench judgment in Swanubhuti Jivraj Jain v. State of Maharashtra [2025 SCC OnLine Bom 322], the Court reiterated that a person born to parents belonging to different castes must establish specific facts indicating that they faced social discrimination, insults, or deprivation linked to the SC identity. The petitioner in this case failed to do so.
“…the entire nurturing and upbringing of the Petitioner, although has been done by his mother, does not appear to be that of deprivation. He had the advantage of his father's upper caste during his schooling days and his caste was recorded as 'Hindu Agri' in his school records. His mother throughout her career continued to be employed by the Central Police Mumbai Port. There is nothing on record to indicate that the Petitioner's mother suffered any humiliation, which was manifested onto the Petitioner,” the court observed.
The Court further remarked that the Petitioner had good education, was never discriminated against, and did not suffer any disadvantages on account of his mother belonging to a Scheduled Caste community. He did not suffer any handicap and did have an advantageous start in life.
Consequently, the writ petition was dismissed.
Case Title: Sujal Mangala Birwadkar v. State of Maharashtra & Ors. [Writ Petition No. 13016 of 2024]