Is a suit for expulsion from caste and for damages against such expulsion, a suit of civil nature? Refer to case law in support of your answer, if any, on this point. 

Question: Is a suit for expulsion from caste and for damages against such expulsion, a suit of civil nature? Refer to case law in support of your answer, if any, on this point.

Find the answer to the mains question only on Legal Bites. [Is a suit for expulsion from caste and for damages against such expulsion, a suit of civil nature? Refer to case law in support of your answer, if any, on this point.]

Answer

A caste question is a question that relates to matters affecting the internal autonomy of the caste and its social relations. Purely caste questions cannot form the subject matter of a civil suit.

The exclusion of a member of a caste from invitation to caste dinners or ceremonies deprives him only of a social privilege and cannot be the basis of a suit of a civil nature for dinner is not a legal but social obligation and is, therefore, not recoverable by means of the suit.

Temporary exclusion of some members of a caste from social intercourse with other families on account of infringement of caste rules at the instance of the panchayat is not a matter for consideration for the civil court. So also right to assistance in removal of a dead body, contribution of funds on marriage occasions, and breaches of an agreement to intermarry between members of different sub-castes are not’ questions of civil nature and are accordingly not enforceable.

But where the right of membership and personal character and status of an individual is affected the suit is maintainable as a suit of a civil nature. It falls within the jurisdiction of the civil courts to deal with a caste question where the character of a member has been unjustly injured.

In Akali Dassia And Ors. v. Jagannath Churn (1894) ILR 21 Cal 463, Appayya v. Padappa 1898 ILR 23 Bom 122, Ganapati Bhatta v. Bharati Swami (1894) ILR 17 Mad 222, the courts have held that when a person is expelled from the caste, it is the violation of his legal right and a suit is maintainable in the court against his expulsion from caste and for damages against such expulsion.

Thus expulsion of a member from the case involves the determination of a legal right and a suit will lie to determine the validity of the expulsion. The right to remain in the community or to exercise the rights and privileges of the members of the community is a civil one. So will also a suit lie for damages for wrongful expulsion. Similarly, a right to inspect accounts of caste property held in trust is enforceable by means of a suit.

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