New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said that a child born of an inter-caste marriage cannot be denied the right to reservations just on the basis of one of the parents being upper caste.The apex court said the child's upbringing is key to making that decision.The court said, "While determining the caste of a child born to a forward caste man and a tribal woman, the child will not necessarily take the caste of his father."

For the first time the court has said the attendant circumstances like where the child was brought up, whether he suffered caste disabilities accompanying his mothers status etc will have to be taken into account while determining the caste of the child.Till now the rule has been that a child born of a marriage between a forward caste man and a SC/ST woman will be considered a forward caste.