The Allahabad High Court has taken strong objection to the growing trend of caste glorification and directed the Uttar Pradesh Government to remove all caste references from FIRs, police documents, public records, vehicles and signboards.

Justice Vinod Diwaker, who delivered the judgment, said caste glorification is 'anti-national' and stressed that respect for the Constitution, not lineage, is the 'highest form of patriotism' and the 'truest expression of national service'.

He said that if India is to become a developed nation by 2047, it is essential to root out the caste system that remains deeply entrenched in society.

"This goal demands sustained, multi-level efforts from all levels of government—through progressive policies, robust anti-discrimination laws, and transformative social programs", the Court said, while pointing to the absence of a dedicated law to dismantle the caste system and its influence.

The Court was also critical of the police practice of recording caste in FIRs, recovery memos and investigation papers, calling it a breach of constitutional morality. These remarks came while hearing a plea under Section 482 CrPC, where it was noted that the FIR and seizure memo carried the caste of the accused persons.

The Court warned, "Writing or declaring the caste of an accused—without legal relevance—amounts to identity profiling, not objective investigation. It reinforces prejudice, corrupts public opinion, contaminates judicial thinking, violates fundamental rights, and undermines constitutional morality".

Earlier, the Court had asked the state police chief to explain this practice. The DGP defended it as a way to avoid confusion of identity and cited government formats. The Court rejected this reasoning, calling it a 'legal fallacy' at a time when modern tools like Aadhar, fingerprints, mobile numbers and parental details are available.

Justice Diwaker also criticised the DGP, remarking that instead of showing sensitivity, he acted like an “ivory-tower policeman, detached from constitutional morality, and eventually retired merely as a bureaucrat in uniform”.

The Court pointed out that despite Supreme Court directions against mentioning caste in pleadings and cause titles, police in Uttar Pradesh continue to write caste in FIRs and recovery memos. The bench called it 'unfortunate' that in the 21st century, the police still use caste as a means of identification.

The Court then issued detailed directions to the state government. These included deleting caste columns from FIRs, recovery memos, arrest and surrender memos, police reports and notice boards, adding the mother’s name along with the father or husband’s name for identification, removing caste slogans and identifiers from vehicles, erasing caste-based signboards marking villages or colonies, and acting against caste-based content on social media under IT Rules, 2021 with a monitoring system in place.

The Registrar has been asked to send a copy of the order to the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh, who must place it before the Chief Minister, as well as to the Union Home Secretary, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the Ministry of Electronics and IT, and the Press Council of India.

Caste is a threat to secularism

Recalling Dr B.R. Ambedkar's warning that "castes are anti-national because they generate jealousy and antipathy between caste and caste", the Court said citizens must take pride not in caste but in character, and not in legacy but in equality and fraternity.

It added that the caste system, which the framers of the Constitution had sought to bury, is raising its 'ugly head' in new ways, posing a 'serious threat to secularism' and to national unity.

The bench observed that the “ultimate aim of the Constitution” is to build a casteless society, and said,

"Those who do not learn from the events of history are doomed to suffer again. It is, therefore, of utmost importance for the people of India to adhere in letter and spirit to the Constitution, which has moulded this country into a sovereign, socialist, secular democratic republic and has promised to secure to all its citizens justice, social, economic and political, equality of status and of opportunity".

The Court said caste glorification through vehicles, signboards and public spaces is a "coded assertion of social power that contradicts India's constitutional values" and declared that "such practices are, in effect, anti-national".

The Court also noted how social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube Shorts and Facebook Reels are being used to push caste identity among young people.

"These reels often romanticise caste aggression and dominance, rural masculinity, and regressive honour codes. The sociopsychological, cultural, and legal dimensions of such behaviour reveal how the assertion of caste in public domains undermines constitutional morality and reflects an identity crisis rooted in historical superiority and modern insecurity", the Court said.

It added that social media has become an "echo chamber for hyper-masculine caste identity, historical revisionism" and spreads a "toxic digital masculinity rooted in caste, weaponising tradition in a postmodern format".

The Court expressed disappointment that no national campaign has been launched to fight caste prejudice, unlike those on cleanliness or gender equality.

"The law alone cannot change hearts and minds", the bench said as it urged the government to start education and awareness programmes from schools to public offices and community centres to eliminate caste bias.

The Court clarified that its intention in making these observations is to strengthen constitutional morality and encourage compassion and justice among those in high constitutional positions.

It added that the dignity of the nation comes not from caste or ancestry but from upholding constitutional values and building a strong national character together.

"Pride in ancestry or social identity cannot be a substitute for the values of equality, justice, and fraternity enshrined in the Constitution. True honour for one's office, and true service to the people, lies in upholding these principles with humility and devotion. Reverence for the Constitution, rather than for lineage, is the highest form of patriotism and the truest expression of national service," the Court said.

On the case itself, the Court found a prima facie case against the petitioner, who had sought to quash criminal proceedings related to alleged liquor smuggling, and dismissed his plea.