MADURAI: Dismissing a PIL filed challenging a GO, which prescribed guidelines to identify and remove caste-based names in public spaces, the Madurai Bench of Madras HC on Wednesday called upon the state government to identify places left out in the GO and rename them too.
A bench comprising justices CV Karthikeyan and R Sakthivel said they do not find any objection in the government order, which was passed on October 6, 2025. “This step should have been taken many years ago. The government should not have waited all these years to introduce these changes,” judges observed.
Though the petitioner stated that the renaming would lead to confusion, the judges said those who remove caste from their minds would not face any confusion.
“There should be a change in the mindset, and it is only appropriate that it is brought about by way of a government order,” they observed. Going over the list of places mentioned in the GO, the judges noted that some of the existing names are so derogatory that they cannot be uttered in the court. The alternate names given are neutral names of persons who the public in the state revere and respect, they said.
To the petitioner’s contention that the 21 days notice period for raising objections was inadequate, the judges said the government cannot give an indefinite number of days. The argument that a similar GO was passed in 1978 itself also cannot be sustained as it is a continuous process, judges observed.
The order was passed on a PIL filed by S Paramasivam of Madurai. Paramasivam claimed that there was no complaint about any caste abuse quoting the names of the street, road or water body all these years. He further alleged that the then DMK government had issued the GO in view of the assembly election.
