Provide Column For “No Religion” & “No Caste” In Application Format For Registering Birth Certificate: Telangana HC Directs State

The Telangana High Court in a plea filed by a couple has directed the State Government to provide a column for “no religion” and “no caste” in the application format for the purpose of birth certificate registration.

A Single Bench of Justice Lalitha Kanneganti held, “… this Court is of the considered opinion that the petitioner has every right not to specify the religion or caste in the birth certificate. … the Writ Petition is allowed directing the respondents to provide a column for “no religion”, “ no caste” in the on line application format and receive the petitioners’ application for registering the birth of their son, by virtue of Article 25 of the Constitution of India. He has every right to claim that he does not belong to any religion /caste.”

The Bench said that the system must evolve along with the times, and the changing requirements of the citizens. It further said that the constitutional court cannot remain a mute spectator to the legitimate requirement of a citizen.

Advocate M. Venkanna appeared on behalf of the petitioners while Asst. Solicitor General, Government Pleader, and Standing Counsel represented the respondents.

In this case, a writ petition was filed by the petitioners seeking directions against the respondents for their inaction with regard to the denial of putting “no religion” and “no caste” in the application format of the birth certificate of their newborn child. The petitioners were a wife and husband who had a love marriage and they belonged to two different religions.

When the aforesaid couple wanted to apply for the birth certificate of their newborn, they found that it was a must to fill the religious status of the child without which the application was incomplete and the same could not be presented. Under the religion column, the options given were 1) Hindu, 2) Islam, 3) Christian and the 4th one was ‘other religions’. “Any other” option was also prescribed under the Religion column only, but there was no option for non-religious practitioners or identity.

The High Court in view of the above facts noted, “It is emphasised by the Apex Court that it is the responsibility of the State to ensure that no citizen suffers from any inconvenience or disadvantage merely because the parents fail or neglect to register the birth. It is the duty of the State to take requisite steps for recording birth of every citizen.”

The Court further noted that the citizen has a right to act as per his conscience and beliefs and the State cannot compel the citizen to profess or declare that he belongs to one religion or the other and that if he is compelled to do so, it is nothing but infringing his fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India.

“It is the responsibility of all concerned to transform the constitutional idealism into reality. The petitioners have every right not to follow or profess any religion and such right is implicit in Article 25 of the Constitution of India. It is the bounden duty of the respondents to act in consonance with the rights guaranteed to the citizen by the Constitution of India”, observed the Court.

Accordingly, the High Court allowed the writ petition.

Cause Title- Sandepu Swaroopa and another v. Union of India & others

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