The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to ensure that existing court directions and government orders to remove caste names from street and road names are effectively implemented.
The observation came during the hearing of a bail petition filed by an accused arrested in a case registered by the Senthamangalam police in Namakkal district. Justice N. Ramesh noted that the First Information Report in the case itself contained a street name that included a caste reference.
Pointing to a government order issued as early as 1978, the judge said caste names should be removed from streets and roads, and added that court orders on the issue also exist. Despite this, caste names continue to appear in several street names, the court observed.
The judge further remarked that with the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department having been renamed as the Social Justice Department, this is an appropriate time to ensure enforcement of the directions to remove caste names from public street and road names.
The court also instructed the High Court Registry to initiate proceedings on its own and place the matter before the Chief Justice regarding the removal of caste names from street names.
