CASTE CERTIFICATE VALID EVEN IF HUSBAND’S NAME APPEARS INSTEAD OF FATHER’S:HC

CASTE CERTIFICATE VALID EVEN IF HUSBAND’S NAME APPEARS INSTEAD OF FATHER’S:HC

3-NOV-ENG 3

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA-----------------------In a major relief for thousands of female job aspirants across Bihar, the Division Bench of the Patna High Court ruled that a married woman's caste certificate cannot be rejected solely because it carries her husband's name instead of her father's.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Mohit Kumar Shah and Justice Saurendra Pandey dismissed an appeal filed by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC), affirming that caste is acquired by birth and a certificate merely confirms that pre-existing status.

The matter pertained to Dr. Sushma Sharan, an applicant for a medical post where 5 seats were reserved for female candidates. Although she cleared the interview conducted in February 2018, BPSC withheld her appointment under the reserved category because her caste certificate mentioned her husband's name rather than her father's.

The bench noted that the original job advertisement contained no mandatory condition stipulating that the certificate must exclusively mention the father's name. Furthermore, both her father and husband belong to the Scheduled Caste (SC) category.

The court emphasized that a certificate issued by a Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) carries full legal authority and cannot be invalidated on minor technical grounds.

The High Court upheld the Single Bench judgment and directed BPSC to grant the candidate her appointment under the reserved SC female quota.