Can a child inherit OBC status from a single mother? Supreme Court agrees to examine plea

The Supreme Court has agreed to examine whether a child raised solely by a single OBC mother is entitled to an OBC certificate, even in the absence of any caste documentation from the father’s side.

A bench of Justices K V Viswanathan and N Kotishwar Singh said it would lay down guidelines on the matter, refusing to leave the issue entirely to individual states.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Santosh Kumari, a retired teacher from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, who is separated from her husband and lives with her child. She challenged the prevailing norms that require paternal caste lineage to determine a child’s eligibility for OBC status.

“Considering the important issue raised by the petitioner, and subject to the orders passed by the CJI, let the matter be placed for final hearing in the month of July,” the bench said. It also raised an additional query: whether children born to OBC women in inter-caste marriages would be eligible for OBC certification.

The case has received support from the Centre. Additional Solicitor General S D Sanjay, appearing for the Union government, said, “Any child born to an OBC parent, whether the parents are separated or divorced, should be entitled to an OBC certificate based on the credentials of either the OBC father or OBC mother, depending on who has custody or is actively raising the child.”

He initially stated that the determination of caste fell within the domain of individual states, but the court made it clear that a uniform framework was needed. “We will lay down guidelines,” the bench said.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in its affidavit, said: “In cases where an OBC certificate is to be issued based on the mother's credentials alone, it must be clearly established that the child has been living with and has been brought up solely by the mother. Additionally, a preventive mechanism should be in place to prevent any potential misuse of this benefit.”

The ministry acknowledged that “OBC castes and its related subjects are matters of individual states in the country and the states need to roll out the mechanism for the same.” It added, “This court may issue guidelines or/and directions to the states and its officers to process the application of wards of single OBC mothers without document proof from the parental side.”

In examining the issue, the top court may revisit a 2012 Supreme Court judgment in Rameshbhai Dabhai Naika vs Gujarat, which held that while there may be a presumption that a child inherits the father's caste in inter-caste or tribal marriages, the presumption is “not conclusive or irrebuttable.”

The court had ruled that it is open to the child to prove that he or she was raised solely by the mother and experienced the same disadvantages, deprivations, and treatment as members of her community.

(With inputs from ToI)