Off-springs of intercaste marriages cannot be denied the benefits of reservation on the mere ground that one of the parents belonged to upper caste, the Supreme Court has ruled.
A bench of justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai passed the ruling upholding an appeal filed by Rameshbhai Dabhai Naika challenging a Gujarat Government’s decision to strip him of reservation benefits under ST quota as his father belonged to the upper caste Kshatriya community.
“In an inter-caste marriage or a marriage between a tribal and a non-tribal the determination of the caste of the offspring is essentially a question of fact to be decided on the basis of the facts adduced in each case.
WRITING THE JUDGEMENT
“The determination of caste of a person born of an inter-caste marriage or a marriage between a tribal and a non-tribal cannot be determined in complete disregard of attending facts of the case,” Justice Alam said.
The apex court said in an intercaste marriage or a marriage between a tribal and a non-tribal there may be a presumption that the child has the caste of the father. “This presumption may be stronger in the case where in the inter-caste marriage or a marriage between a tribal and a non-tribal the husband belongs to a forward caste.
OPEN TO CHILD
“But by no means the presumption is conclusive or irrebuttable and it is open to the child of such marriage to lead evidence to show that he/she was brought up by the mother who belonged to the scheduled caste/scheduled tribe,” the apex court further said.
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