The Allahabad High Court, while dismissing a plea to quash a criminal case related to liquor smuggling, has issued a series of landmark directions to the Uttar Pradesh government to immediately cease the practice of mentioning the caste of an accused in police records, including FIRs and seizure memos. Justice Vinod Diwakar, in a detailed judgment, described the practice as a “legal fallacy” and an act of “identity profiling” that “undermines constitutional morality” and poses a “serious challenge to constitutional democracy in India.”
The High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, in a significant ruling delivered on September 16, 2025, has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to overhaul its police documentation procedures by removing all columns and entries pertaining to the caste of accused persons, informants, and witnesses from official forms. The Court, while rejecting the petition of one Praveen Chetri to quash criminal proceedings against him in a liquor smuggling case, took strong exception to the investigating officer mentioning the caste of the accused in the FIR and seizure memo.
The judgment heavily criticized the justifications provided by the Director General of Police (DGP) for this practice and made far-reaching observations on the psychological and societal damage caused by caste-based identification, ultimately issuing binding directions for reform within the state and recommendations for the Union Government.
Background of the Case
The matter originated from an application filed by Praveen Chetri under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, seeking to quash the entire criminal proceedings in Case Crime No. 108 of 2023. The case was registered at P.S. Jaswant Nagar, District Etawah, under Sections 420, 467, 468, and 471 of the Indian Penal Code, along with Sections 60/63 of the Excise Act.
According to the prosecution, on April 29, 2023, a police team stopped a Scorpio vehicle and found three individuals, including the applicant Praveen Chetri. A search of the vehicle yielded 106 bottles of whisky marked “FOR SALE IN HARYANA ONLY” and fake number plates. The recovery memo recorded the castes of the accused as ‘Mali’, ‘Pahadi Rajput’, and ‘Thakur’. Based on information from them, another car was intercepted, from which 254 more bottles of liquor were recovered. The occupants of the second vehicle were identified with their castes as ‘Punjabi Parashar’ and ‘Brahmin’. The accused persons allegedly confessed to smuggling liquor from Haryana to Bihar and named Praveen Chetri as their “gang leader.”
Arguments of the Parties
The applicant, Praveen Chetri, contended that he was falsely implicated. His counsel argued that he was in Etawah to attend a post-death ritual for a relative and had taken a lift in the Scorpio car as no public transport was available. He claimed to have no knowledge of the liquor in the vehicle and was not acquainted with the other occupants.
Court’s Analysis: A Rebuke of Caste in Police Records
During the proceedings, the Court observed that the caste of the accused was mentioned in the police records. It directed the Director General of Police, U.P., to file a personal affidavit justifying this practice. The DGP’s affidavit cited three main reasons: to avoid confusion in identifying the accused, the mandatory nature of columns in forms designed under the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), and the necessity of recording caste in cases under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The Court systematically dismantled these justifications. Justice Diwakar termed the reliance on caste for identification a “legal fallacy” in an era of modern tools like Aadhaar cards, fingerprints, and mobile cameras. The Court observed, “It’s unfortunate. This is particularly untenable when modern tools… are available.”
On the argument that the forms could only be amended by the Central Government, the Court held it was “not legally sustainable” since policing is a state subject under the Constitution, empowering the state to amend forms to achieve the “constitutional aim of a caste-less society.”
The judgment delved deeply into the constitutional vision for a casteless society, quoting Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s famous speech in the Constituent Assembly where he called castes “anti-national” because they “bring about separation in social life” and “generate jealousy and antipathy.” The Court also relied on Supreme Court judgments, including Indra Sawhney v. Union of India, which held that the Constitution aims to move “from casteism to egalitarianism,” and recent orders in cases like Shama Sharma v. Kishan Kumar, which directed that the caste or religion of a litigant should not be mentioned in court documents.
The Court was scathing in its criticism of the DGP, stating, “…he conducted himself like an ivory-tower policeman, detached from constitutional morality, and eventually retired merely as a bureaucrat in uniform.” It found it “truly unfortunate” that the officer’s actions were defended rather than being met with a departmental inquiry and sensitization on constitutional values.
The Decision and Directions
While dismissing the applicant’s petition to quash the FIR on the ground that a prima facie case was made out under the principles laid down in State of Haryana v. Ch. Bhajan Lal, the Court issued a series of binding directions and recommendations.
Directions for the Uttar Pradesh Government:
- Deletion of Caste Columns: All entries pertaining to caste or tribe shall be deleted from police forms, including the Crime Details Form, Arrest/Court Surrender Memo, and the Police Final Report.
- Inclusion of Mother’s Name: The name of the mother shall be added alongside the father’s/husband’s name in all relevant police forms.
- Police Station Notice Boards: The column for caste against the names of accused on notice boards at all police stations shall be erased with immediate effect.
- Removal of Caste Signboards: Signboards glorifying caste or declaring areas as “caste territories or estates” must be removed forthwith, with a formal regulation to prevent their re-installation.
Recommendations for the Union Government:
- Amend the Central Motor Vehicle Rules to explicitly ban caste-based slogans and identifiers on all vehicles.
- Strengthen IT Rules to act against caste-glorifying and hate-inducing content on social media.
- Establish a monitoring mechanism for citizens to report violations.
Concluding its judgment, the Court remarked that to achieve the vision of a developed nation by 2047, the “annihilation of caste must be a central part of our national agenda.” The Registrar (Compliance) was directed to transmit the order to top officials in the state and central governments for compliance and information.
