UP Govt's Ban On Political Caste Rallies Must Be Effective; Right Values In Children Is Permanent Solution: Allahabad High Court

Noting that the State Government has already imposed a complete prohibition on such gatherings to preserve public order, a bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary expected a strict and effective implementation of the Government order.

"We hope and trust that the concerned authorities of the State shall implement the existing provisions of law on the subject matter in issue, as dealt with herein-above, in letter and spirit and in an effective manner so that the noble objects sought to be achieved by these provisions of law are not reduced to a mere paper work,” the bench remarked.

Significantly, the Court also added that a permanent solution to these deep-rooted societal issues lies not merely in statutes, but in the inculcation of proper values in the family system and the schooling system.

"…so that the child, when he/she grows up, should have the right values and mindset and ought not to be persuaded merely by consideration of caste or religion, in tandem with the social fabric of our great country which also amounts to imbibing with the spirit of Article 51-A(e) of the Constitution of India", the bench added.

The bench also pointed out that inculcating the right values will go a long way toward curbing these parochial loyalties and fostering a sense of fraternity and mutual trust.

Case background

Hearing the plea in 2013, the High Court had issued a notice to the ECI and other political parties and issued interim directions to ban all such caste-based rallies across Uttar Pradesh.

In 2023, the ECI informed the court that it has no Jurisdiction to ban caste-based rallies organised by political parties in the non-election period or to ban them from contesting subsequent polls.

As regards the period during which no elections are in process, the High Court noted that the Government of UP has issued an order dealing with the subject of caste-based political rallies.

Interestingly, this GO was issued pursuant to an order of the single judge of the HC strongly deprecating caste glorification, describing it as 'anti-national', which is violative of constitutional morality.

In the order passed in September last year, the HC said that mentioning caste in FIRs, arrest memos, seizure memos and police notice boards 'amounts to identity profiling, not objective investigation'.

In its order, the division bench noted that the State Government has explicitly recognized that caste-based rallies organized with political motives fan the flames of caste conflict.

In view of this GO, the HC noted that the provision for the banning of caste-based political rallies and for their prevention has been brought into effect, whether or not during the election process.

The bench added that the only thing which remained was the 'will' to implement the provisions effectively “without any bias or favour”.

It added that it is for the concerned Government or the Election Commission to look into this aspect and do the needful.

"How it is being implemented and in what manner, is for the State Government to periodically review, assess and take further suitable action for making the Government order as effective as it should be, but within the confines of the Constitution and the prevailing law",” the order states.

Importantly, the Court explicitly remarked that if the existing statutory provisions are to be made more effective, it is for the legislature to do so. In this regard, the HC said, it would be open for the Petitioner and the Amicus to make their suggestions to the concerned authorities

The Court thus disposed of the petition with the liberty that if the ban is not implemented effectively, the petitioner (Moti Lal Yadav) or the Amicus Curiae (Rajat Rajan Singh) may approach the Court again with relevant data.