New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday described as "important" a petition seeking changes in rules to enable children of single mothers from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) to receive caste certificates.
A bench comprising Justices K V Viswanathan and N Kotiswar Singh said the case warranted a detailed hearing. "The present writ petition raises an important issue about issuance of OBC certificate to children of single mother wherein the mother belongs to the OBC," the bench noted.
The Centre’s counsel informed the court that a counter affidavit had been submitted in the case. On January 31, the apex court had issued a notice and sought responses from both the Centre and the Delhi government on a plea filed by a woman from Delhi.
"This has to be heard," the bench reiterated on Monday, emphasising the significance of the issue. It also referred to a 2012 judgement that addressed the status of individuals with one parent belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe and the other not belonging to either.
The Centre’s counsel emphasised that the issue required thorough discussion and that all states needed to be included as parties in the case. He added that guidelines from the Supreme Court would be essential and that multiple factors would need to be considered before framing them.
The petitioner argued that the OBC certificate should be issued based on the mother’s certificate if she is a single parent.
"Considering the importance of the matter, subject to the order of the Chief Justice of India, the matter be placed for final hearing on July 22." The bench directed all parties to file their written submissions and asked them to examine a scenario where the single mother was in an inter-caste marriage.
The plea stated that, according to the guidelines issued by the respondent authorities, an OBC certificate couldn't be granted on the basis of an OBC certificate of a single mother and that an applicant had to produce such a certificate from the paternal side only.
"The inaction on the part of respondents to issue OBC certificates to children of single mother on the basis of the Other Backward Class certificate of their single mother are also in contravention of the rights of the children who belong to the Other Backward Class," the plea said.
The petition further contended that this practice was violative of constitutional provisions, especially since children of a single mother belonging to the SC or ST category were granted caste certificates on the basis of her certificate.
The plea also stated that insisting on the father's OBC certificate or the paternal side by the authorities for issuing OBC certificates to children of single mothers was totally against the rights of children brought up by her.
It referred to the Delhi government's guidelines for issuing OBC certificates, which require any person residing in Delhi and applying for an OBC certificate to produce an OBC certificate of a paternal blood relative, such as the father, grandfather, or uncle.
The plea added that a single mother belonging to the OBC category who wants to apply for such a certificate for her adopted child on the basis of her own certificate was not allowed to apply for want of the husband's OBC certificate.
(inputs from PTI)