HYDERABAD: Justice Kanneganti Lalitha of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday directed the Principal Secretary, School Education, Commissioner of Municipal Administration, and other relevant authorities, to include columns for “No caste” and “No religion” in the online applications for birth certificate.
The interim order was given in response to a writ petition filed by Sandepu Swaroopa and another individual, seeking a direction to the respondent authorities to recognise their request for not specifying the religion and caste of their children in the birth certificate.
The petitioners had submitted multiple representations to the authorities since April 7, 2019, but no action was taken. The court deemed the denial of such a request to be against the secular spirit of the Indian Constitution and a violation of Articles 14, 19, 21, and 25.
After considering the arguments presented by the petitioners, the court expressed the opinion that citizens have the right, similar to the freedom of religion guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution, to choose not to practice any religion or caste. This freedom is protected under Article 19 of the Constitution.
As a result, the court directed the respondents, including the Municipal Commissioners and the Principal Secretary for School Education, to incorporate columns in the online application where individuals can state their status as “No caste” and “No religion”.