‘Aadhar-like documents best tools to identify accused’
Bivek Mathur
JAMMU, Oct 22: The Allahabad High Court recently directed the Uttar Pradesh Government and the State’s Director General of Police (DGP) to amend the police manuals to stop mentioning a person’s caste in official records, including FIRs, arrest memos, and other documents.
The decision has been widely welcomed by experts and communities, not only in the State of Uttar Pradesh but across the country, sparking a debate on whether other States and Union Territories should follow suit to avoid writing individual’s caste in the Government documents.
In Jammu and Kashmir, where caste is still noted in the FIRs, police and legal experts largely agree that the practice is exploitative, divisive, and must end immediately.
Former Judge Muzaffar Iqbal Khan, now a senior Supreme Court and High Court lawyer and Independent MLA from Manjakote, traced the practice back to British-era India.
According to him, the British used caste as a tool to rule people by dividing them according to their “so-called stature.”
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He said some States adopted British-era police manuals verbatim, allowing the practice to continue for decades until experts highlighted its unfairness to make the necessary changes.
Citing an example, Khan said the British once described the Gurjars of Delhi as “criminals” after they participated in a Muslim-led first-ever uprising against them (British).
“Continuing to mention caste in Government documents like FIR only stigmatizes individuals further. This practice must stop immediately,” he said, adding that caste details in police records like FIRs can also lead to biased investigations when accused and Investigating Officers or senior police officials belong to different castes.
He suggested that for identification of the accused in the FIRs, the Government can rely on residential and parentage related details along with other relevant information.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Kuldeep Khoda also believes that the British were the first to use caste in police and other Government records to divide society.
He said, “Unfortunately, the weakest link in the Indian population is caste exploitation, which divides society and lets the enemy take advantage of the problems within. They try to subvert people who feel they are being discriminated against. The very moment we start mentioning caste in Government records, it creates fissures in the society.”
Welcoming the Allahabad HC’s recent decision, Khoda said the practice should be stopped and enforced strictly if it still continues in the Government and police records in Jammu and Kashmir.
“We have to unify the society rather than dividing it further,” he added.
Advocate Shiv Dev Singh Thakur, practicing at the Supreme Court and High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, said recording caste in Government documents stigmatizes the accused and should stop forthwith.
He noted that for proper identification of the accused, Government-approved documents like Aadhar and voter cards are the best available tools.
He also suggested that police should use technology to ensure accurate identification of the accused
“In the era of technology, we cannot rely on obsolete systems,” he said.
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