New Delhi, Sept. 17: The Supreme Court on Monday said no person should be forced to reveal his caste.

The court clarified this while hearing a PIL seeking to abolish the caste column in school admission forms.

“It is a laudable objective,” a bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan said after an 81-year-old Gandhian from Tamil Nadu urged that the caste disclosure system at the school level should be done away with.

Salemvelu Gandhi alias C. Velu said this would ensure that authorities do not discriminate between students on the basis of caste and no “unseen barriers” would be created between them. It would eventually help create a “casteless society”.

The court, however, refused to abolish the column practice completely, saying it would create problems for those sections of society that need to avail themselves of benefits like scholarships on the basis of caste.

Salemvelu said in his petition that he was “seriously aggrieved over the prevalence of the caste system in the nation at all levels and wants to eradicate this evil from the society…. The moment somebody is asked about his caste he feels aggrieved and the seed of discrimination is sown….”

He said the caste system prevailing in our country was a sign of a feudal system and “schools were watering it” from the beginning. The caste disclosure system was an example of the state itself violating Articles 14 (right to equality) and 16 of the Constitution, he said.

“The disclosure system creates differences among children and it further widens after they grow up,” Salemvelu said.