CHENNAI: In a significant judgment, the Madras High Court has ordered removal of caste tags from school and college names within four weeks. The institutions must be de-recognised if they fail to comply with the order, and authorities must complete the exercise within the 2025-26 academic year, the court said.
Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy pronounced the judgment on Wednesday while disposing of the writ petitions filed by Senguntha Mahajana Sangam in connection with its functions and elections.
He directed the societies formed in the name of castes/sub-castes to drop the caste tag and also remove caste appendages from the educational institutions run by them.
“In case these societies run any private or aided schools, colleges or other educational institutions, it should be ensured that no board depicting the caste name either directly or indirectly in any manner be put up on the campus or mentioned in their records,” the judge said.
If institutions fail to comply with the order within four weeks, steps must be taken to de-recognise them and transfer the students to some other recognised institutions, the court ruled. Justice Chakravarthy also directed the state government to remove the caste names from schools such as Kallar Reclamation Schools and Adi-Dravidar Welfare Schools and from their hostel names and simply refer to them as “Government Schools.”
He also ordered removal of caste tags from names of people who made donations to schools. The order cited the recommendations of Justice Chandru committee on dealing with caste friction among students.
The Senguntha Mahajana Sangham filed the writ petition seeking an order to quash the orders passed by the Secretary of Commercial Taxes and Registration Department and the district registrar of societies (administration), Chennai, for appointing an officer for running the affairs of the society due to dispute over the election of office-bearers.
As far as societies running in the name of particular castes, the judge ordered the Inspector General of Registration to issue directions and all the jurisdictional registrars of societies to draw a list of these societies that have caste/sub-caste as part of their names, caste perpetuation as their goals, and membership from among the caste group, and ask them to drop the caste appendage from the society’s name by amending the bylaws. This process must commence in three months, the HC said.