Bombay HC says it would examine law on whether Muslims have practice of mentioning caste – Times of India

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court recently said it would like to examine the law on the point of whether “in case of Muslim, there is no practise of mentioning caste in the record.’’
A petition before the HC had challenged a caste scrutiny committee’s order in denying a caste plea of a Muslim engineer college student on the grounds that her relatives had in some documents not mentioned their caste.
The HC bench of Justices S B Shukre and G A Sanap on April 7 while hearing a petition filed last year by one Zuveria Shaikh sought her lawyer Dhairyasheel Sutar and government lawyer V M Mali to assist the court on the legal question.
Sutar said, “Just because in some relevant documents, caste of relatives has not been mentioned, Caste Scrutiny Committee ought not to have held such absence…to go against,’’ Shaikh said.
He said in many judgments delivered by Bombay HC consistent view had been taken that in Muslim community, there is no practice of mentioning caste.
In a 2021 judgment in Aasiya Gavandi Vs. District Caste Certification a division bench of the HC had said, “it is settled law that in case of Muslim, there is no practice of mentioning caste in the record.’’