{
  "id": 8710212,
  "title": "Fair skin, curly hair, tall height, no basis to determine caste or religion, says Madras high court",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/fair-skin-curly-hair-tall-height-no-basis-to-determine-caste-or",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-20T15:04:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hindustan Times",
    "slug": "hindustan-times",
    "url": "https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/madras-high-court-hc-fair-skin-curly-hair-tall-height-no-basis-to-determine-caste-religion-community-certificate-101789911200468.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Madras High Court recently ruled that physical characteristics such as fair skin, tall height, and curly hair cannot be used to determine someone's religion or caste. This decision came while overturning an order from the District Level Vigilance Committee, which had deemed a community certificate held by a man, M Ravikumar, as invalid. The committee had concluded that the man did not belong to the Scheduled Caste community, the Adi Dravidar community. Ravikumar had challenged the order, stating that his father had originally belonged to the Adi Dravidar community but had converted to Christianity. However, both his father and himself had later reconverted to Hinduism. The court observed that while the petitioner's religious beliefs are relevant, physical attributes like complexion, height, and physique do not hold any weight in determining someone's religion or caste. The Madras High Court directed the petitioner to appear before the authorities within four weeks and provide all necessary documents to prove his adherence to Hinduism.",
  "summary": "The court made the observation while setting aside an order, which held that a community certificate held by a man was not genuine citing physical attibutes.",
  "key_points": [
    "Fair skin, tall height, curly hair cannot determine caste or religion.",
    "District Level Vigilance Committee invalidated community certificate.",
    "Madras High Court directs petitioner to submit Hinduism proof."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Press Journal",
        "title": "Madras High Court Says Complexion, Height And Physical Features Cannot Decide Whether Person Belongs To SC Community",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/20/madras-high-court-says-complexion-height-and-physical-features-cannot",
        "published": "2026-09-20T15:11:10.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}