75 Yrs Of Constitution But Society Yet To Shed 'Unwanted Baggage' Of Caste: Madras HC Refuses To Appoint Temple Trustees From Particular Sub-Caste

Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy lamented that despite 75 years of the Constitution, sections of the society was yet to shed the unwanted baggage. The court added that if such prayers are allowed, the very operation of the Constitutional Scheme would get frustrated. The court added that any prayer which has the effect of perpetuating caste is not only unconstitutional but also opposed to public policy.

“Despite seventy-five years of our Constitution, sections of the society are yet to shed this unwanted baggage. The very operation of the Constitutional scheme is frustrated, and the caste system leads to the perversion of the goals and values of the society. Thus, any prayer made which is in the nature of or which has the effect of perpetuation of caste will not only be unconstitutional but would be opposed to public policy. The time has come for this Court to emphatically declare so,” the court said.

The court also remarked that caste was a social evil and its perpetuation could never be considered by the courts. The court added that caste was not decided by what one learns or does in life but by his/her birth which was against the basic ethos of the society that all men are born equal.

“Caste is a social evil. Casteless society is our constitutional goal. Anything towards perpetuation of caste can never be considered by any Court of law. The reason is very simple. Firstly, it is not decided by what one learns or does in life. It is by birth. Thus, it hits at the very basic ethos of the society that all men are born equal. Further, it divides society, leads to discrimination and violence and is against growth,” the court said.

Discussing the Supreme Court's observation in Ashoka Kumar Thakur v. Union Of India, the court reiterated that the constitution did not think of a casteless society but to ensure that no person is discriminated against because of his caste. Thus, the court emphasized that the Supreme Court, in its observation had held that the ultimate aim was a casteless and classless society in line with the dream of the Constitution.

The court was hearing a writ petition filed by A Rajendran seeking a direction to the Joint Commissioner, HR & CE Department, Coimbatore to conduct enquiry in a time-bound manner in an application. In the pending application, it was stated that the temple belonged to a particular caste and sought to frame a scheme of administration by appointing Non-Hereditary Trustees among persons from a particular sub-caste.

The court noted that usually, if a scheme has to be framed for a temple for which an application is pending, the courts would direct the scheme to be framed. However, in this particular case, the court noted that the entire prayer in the application is based on caste.

The court borrowed the words of Swami Vivekananda, where he said that religion and worship are for the benefit of the soul and that soul had neither sex nor caste nor imperfection. Thus, the court observed that it would be a violence to the Constitution to entertain caste-based prayers, while exercising jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution.

The court thus said that the application need not be considered by the department and dismissed the plea accordingly.

Counsel for the Petitioners: Mrs. V. Usharani

Counsel for the Respondent: Mr. N. R. R. Arun Natarajan Special Government Pleader (HR & CE)

Case Title: A Rajendran v The Joint Commissioner

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Mad) 58

Case No: W.P.No. 3838 of 2025