In a significant ruling aimed at facilitating education for a minor girl, the Supreme Court of India has allowed the issuance of a Scheduled Caste (SC) certificate based on the caste of her mother, even though her father belongs to a non-SC category. The decision, delivered on Monday, December 8, 2025, addresses a challenge to a Madras High Court order, which directed the grant of an SC caste certificate to the girl from Puducherry, emphasizing that her academic career would suffer without it.
The bench, presided over by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, clarified that while the legal question of whether a child inherits their father's caste remains open for adjudication in a separate set of petitions, the immediate need to prevent disruption to the girl's education warranted the current intervention.
Chief Justice Surya Kant raised a crucial point with broad implications, questioning why, with changing times, a caste certificate should not be issued based on the mother's caste. This observation opens the door to a potentially significant debate about the rights of children born to SC women and non-SC men, particularly concerning their entitlement to SC certificates, even if raised in upper-caste family environments.
The case originated from a mother's request to the tahsildar to issue SC certificates for her three children—two daughters and a son—based on her 'Adi Dravida' caste, given that her husband had been residing at her parents' house since their marriage. She argued that her parents and grandparents belonged to the Hindu Adi Dravida community.
The existing guidelines, outlined in presidential notifications and instructions from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, generally base a person's eligibility for a caste certificate on their father's caste and residential status. The Supreme Court has also previously upheld the father's caste as the decisive factor in determining a person's caste, as per customary Hindu Law, in the absence of statutory law.
This ruling departs from the traditional emphasis on the father's caste, recognizing the evolving social realities and the need to prevent injustice. The Supreme Court's observation aligns with a growing discourse on granting OBC certificates to children of single mothers, where the mother belongs to the OBC category. The central government has, in previous hearings, voiced its support for considering the caste identity of the parent who is primarily raising the child, especially in cases where the father is absent.
The Centre has stated that children of single mothers belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) should not be denied caste certificates just because their father is not present. Whether the mother is unmarried, separated, or divorced, her child still deserves the benefits of reservation and official recognition under the OBC category.
This perspective acknowledges the increasing number of families headed by single mothers and emphasizes that denying children caste certificates due to the father's absence is unjust. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has supported this view, asserting that a child should be eligible for an OBC certificate based on the credentials of the parent raising them.
The Supreme Court's recent decision reflects a broader consideration of social justice and the need to adapt caste certificate issuance norms to contemporary family structures. While the larger legal question regarding caste determination remains open, this ruling provides immediate relief to the minor girl and signals a potential shift towards a more inclusive and equitable approach.
