The ruling came while hearing a petition filed by an adoptive mother whose child had been issued a caste certificate based on the family’s caste status. The child had been abandoned at birth and later adopted through a legally recognised process under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. However, the caste certificate was later cancelled by authorities following an anonymous complaint, prompting the family to approach the High Court.
A division bench of the court held that adoption establishes a complete legal parent–child relationship, equivalent to that of a biological child. The judges clarified that once a child is lawfully adopted, they become an integral part of the adoptive family, and all legal rights flowing from that relationship including caste identity must be recognised.
The court emphasised that caste status has significant implications for education, employment opportunities, and access to constitutional benefits, and that refusing caste recognition to an adopted child would be unfair and discriminatory. Such an approach, the bench noted, would leave adopted children in a “legal vacuum” despite being fully accepted into a family by law.
Setting aside the earlier orders cancelling the caste certificate, the High Court directed the concerned authorities to issue a caste validity certificate to the child within four weeks, recognising the caste of the adoptive parents.
Legal experts have described the judgment as an important clarification of the law, reinforcing the principle that adopted children must enjoy the same rights, status, and protections as biological children, without exception.
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