The Supreme Court Friday held that even an illegitimate child would inherit only his/her father's caste irrespective of the caste to which the mother belonged.

The court thereby held that the child would not be entitled to the benefits reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes if the biological father was from a forward community and the mother to a backward community.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti and judges G.P. Mathur and P.K. Balasubramanyan gave the ruling while upholding a judgement of the Andhra Pradesh High Court setting aside the election of Shobha Hymavathi Devi, a Telugu Desam Party legislator who was elected in 1999 from Sringavarapukota in Vizianagaram district, a constituency reserved for tribals.

Election petitions were filed in the high court contending that since her biological father belonged to a forward community, she could not claim Scheduled Tribe status though her mother belonged to Bagatha community, notified as a tribal community.

The high court quashed the election holding that Shobha could not claim the benefits reserved for Scheduled Tribe community though her mother belonged to that community.

In her appeal, Shobha contended that her mother belonged to Bagatha community and she had married Laddu Appala Swamy who also belonged to the same community.

But later due to differences with Swamy, her mother returned to her parental home where she developed intimacy with Murari Rao, a forward caste teacher who was staying in the house and she was born to him.

She contended that since Rao had not married her mother, it could not be said that she inherited her biological father's community and she would continue to inherit her mother's caste only.