President Murmu appoints Justice BR Gavai as next CJI; second dalit to hold the post
Justice Gavai will serve as the 52nd CJI for a period of about six months, as he is due to retire on November 23, 2025, after attaining 65 years of age. NEW DELHI: President of India Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday appointed Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai as the next Chief Justice of India (CJI), with effect from May 14, 2025. He will be the 52nd CJI. The incumbent CJI, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, is slated to retire on May 13. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal made this announcement by posting it on X (formerly known as Twitter). “In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, Judge of the Supreme Court of India, as the Chief Justice of India with effect from 14th May, 2025,” Meghwal posted on X. When Justice Gavai takes charge as the 52nd CJI on May 14, he will also be the second CJI belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community after Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, who was elevated to the country’s top judicial post in 2007 and retired as CJI in 2010. Justice Gavai will retire on November 23, 2025. Justice Gavai has authored around 300 judgments—including Constitution Bench judgments—on various issues upholding the rule of law and equality, and safeguarding the fundamental rights, human rights, and legal rights of citizens. On April 16, the incumbent CJI, Justice Khanna, wrote a letter to the Centre, nominating the second senior-most judge, Justice Gavai, as his successor. Justice Gavai will serve as the 52nd CJI for a period of about six months, as he is due to retire on November 23, 2025, after attaining 65 years of age. Justice Gavai was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019. Born on November 24, 1960, at Amravati, Justice Gavai joined the Bar in 1985. He practiced independently at the Bombay High Court from 1987 to 1990 and focused on Constitutional Law and Administrative Law. He was the Standing Counsel for the Municipal Corporation of Nagpur, Amravati Municipal Corporation, and Amravati University. Justice Gavai was elevated as an Additional Judge of the High Court on November 14, 2003. He became a permanent Judge of the Bombay High Court on November 12, 2005. Justice Gavai worked as Assistant Government Pleader and Additional Public Prosecutor in the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Nagpur Bench, from August 1992 to July 1993. He was appointed as Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor for the Nagpur Bench on January 17, 2000. In the last six years, he has been a part of around 700 benches dealing with matters pertaining to a variety of subjects, including constitutional and administrative law, civil law, criminal law, commercial disputes, arbitration law, electricity law, education matters, environmental law, etc. Justice Gavai has attended various international conferences in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), New York (U.S.A.), Cardiff (U.K.), and Nairobi (Kenya). He has also delivered lectures on many issues, including constitutional and environmental issues, at various universities and organizations, including Columbia University and Harvard University. Courtesy : Suchitra Kalyan Mohanty, TNIE Note: This news is originally published on https://thenewindianexpress.com and is for use by the non-military/non-commercial community, especially those in the human rights sector.
President Appoints Justice BR Gavai As Next Chief Justice Of India;Second Dalit To Be CJI
Justice Gavai paying homage to the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar at Columbia Law School The President of India has appointed Justice BR Gavai as the next Chief Justice of India with effect from May 14, 2025. The incumbent Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, will retire on May 13. “In exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, Judge of the Supreme Court of India as the Chief Justice of India with effect from 14th May, 2025,” Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal posted on X. Upon succession as the 52nd CJI, Justice Gavai would also be the second CJI belonging to the Scheduled Caste community after Justice KG Balakrishnan retired as the CJI in 2010. Justice Gavai will retire on November 23, 2025. Courtesy: Live Law Note: This news is originally published on https://www.livelaw.in and is for use by the non-military/non-commercial community, especially those in the human rights sector.
How CBI charged Dalit IAS officer repeatedly in coal block scam when he wasn’t even in allocation dept
5 yrs after approving CBI request to prosecute KC Samria in 4 cases, DoPT backtracked on 5 others after learning KC Samria wasn’t in the coal allocation section when companies applied. New Delhi: A 1993-batch officer convicted in three coal block allocation cases for not checking whether the companies applying for mining leases had completed their forms, was not with the department checking those applications at the time, official records accessed by ThePrint show. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took up the coal allocation scam probe following an August 2014 Supreme Court ruling declaring all coal block allotments between 1993 and 2010 illegal and arbitrary, apart from those through competitive bidding. As part of its investigation, the CBI accused three senior bureaucrats of conspiring with the applicant companies to cause monetary losses to the exchequer by not allotting the coal blocks through bidding. One of them, K.C. Samria, was a deputy secretary-rank officer with the coal ministry in 2006-2007. The CA-I department processed the applications involving the “illegal” coal block allotments before he joined, later forwarding the applications to the power and coal ministries and the governments of states where the coal blocks lay for reviews and inputs. Afterwards, the applications reached the screening committee’s desk. Records show Samria got the additional charge of the CA-I section on 16 March, 2007. The CA-I section, CBI found, received incomplete applications between 6 November, 2006, and 12 January, 2007, and checked them before Samria’s joining. Still, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) approved the CBI request to prosecute Samria in four cases. The agency made its request to the DoPT in compliance with the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, under which a department must sanction the prosecution of a government officer or minister. Five years later, however, the same DoPT declined the CBI request to prosecute Samria in five other cases on learning that the officer was not posted with the coal ministry’s CA-I when the companies applied for the coal blocks. Meanwhile, the trial court ordered Samria’s trial in one more case, apart from the four cases given sanctions previously. Five orders since then have declined CBI permission to prosecute Samria, saying the officer was not looking after the checks in the CA-I section. The DoPT reached this conclusion on the advice of the coal ministry, to whom Samria then reported. Trial court orders After considering on-record materials, the coal ministry refused to approve Samria’s trial. So, the trial court could not initiate legal proceedings against him in the five cases despite the CBI chargesheets naming him. While denying the CBI request, the DoPT ignored the advice of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). On perusal of the CBI report and other records, the CVC had agreed with the recommendation to prosecute Samria in all five cases. But, due to the weightage it gave to the findings of the coal ministry, the DoPT did not pay heed to the CVC. “And whereas, the competent authority (coal ministry), after duly and carefully examining the investigation report of CBI, the comments of the Ministry of Coal, the advice of CVC, and facts and circumstances of the case and no criminal misconduct has been established against Samria,” noted the DoPT orders in all the five cases. When the coal ministry realised Samria was not the CA-I section officer-in-charge during the irregularities and rejected the CBI request, the trial court had already convicted him in two cases. Those were related to coal blocks allocated to M/s Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Limited (KSSPL) and M/s Vikash Metal and Power Limited (VMPL). The court pronounced the judgment in the KSSPL case on 19 May, 2017, and the VMPL decision on 30 November, 2018. In both cases, it convicted Samria for not checking the eligibility of the applicant companies. After his counsel relayed to the trial court that Samria was not looking after the department that checked the applications, it said that Samria should have still checked them after taking over his position. The other case the trial court heard against Samria, without a formal sanction to prosecute the official, is the illegal allocation of coal blocks to M/s JLD. Adjudication on this case is pending. Similarly, a trial against Samria is pending in the M/s Visa Power Limited case. His acquittal has come in only one case involving M/s Navabharat Power Private Limited. In his appeal before Delhi High Court—filed soon after the two judgments convicted him—Samria defended himself, saying he was not with the CA-I department when the companies applied for consideration for the coal block allotments. Following his appeal, the DoPT also learnt that Samria was not in the CA-I branch during the commission of the alleged crime. Speaking to ThePrint, Samria’s lawyer, Rahul Tyagi, said, “Prosecution of Samria for alleged omissions of a period when he was not Director CA-1 is another example of the non-application of mind during the investigation and the predetermined decision to prosecute IAS officers of the MoC (Ministry of Coal).” For Samria’s convictions, he blamed the media hype, saying a calm and forensic examination of facts and applicable laws could not take place initially. “Now that hype has died, and evidence has come out, Mr Samria no longer faces prosecution on the same facts for which he initially was convicted, as the government (Centre) refused to grant sanction for prosecution against him,” he explained. “It is so sad that an honest Dalit officer, the youngest of his batch, has suffered like this. Everyone expected him to reach the highest levels of administration at a very young age, but his entire career is now in shambles due to these meaningless and misconceived prosecutions. There can be no compensation or restitution for the injustice caused to him,” Tyagi added. CBI requests denied In April 2020, DoPT rejected the CBI’s 11 December, 2018, request to clear Samria’s prosecution in the case involving M/s Vandana Vidhyut Limited, noting that Samria took charge of the CA-I section on 16 March 2007.
Dalit History Month Is Not a Token
Especially for artists, this month is a tactical intervention. A crack in the Brahminical fabric of Indian memory. It’s not a request for inclusion; it’s a declaration of rupture. There are many definitions of history. But for me, as an artist, dreamer, and an unapologetic Ambedkarite, history has often been a crime scene — a place of distortion, manipulation, and theft. What they taught us in school was not our past. It was the propaganda of the powerful. It was mythology stitched together to keep us docile, grateful, and forgetful. I was made to memorize the names of those who enslaved us, sing anthems of unity that demeaned our diversity, and admire writers who never saw us. The textbooks were not written for me. They were written against me. The authors were not my people. They didn’t speak my language, share my pain, or reflect my reality. And when they did write about us, about the Dalits, the Adivasis, the Bahujans, they did it with a gaze. We were either invisible or exoticized. Either deviant or dehumanized. Never complex, never dignified, never in charge of our own narratives. I was orphaned by history and then forced to worship the people who burned my house down. I was told our ancestors were “illiterate, savage, filthy.” But who built India’s temples and skyscrapers? Who cleaned its streets? Who carried the dead and bore the burden of the living? Who taught resistance without ever being taught? Who created Indigenous knowledge? Who carved the first stones and painted the first walls? Our histories of struggle, of survival, of brilliance were not lost. They were looted. So we reclaimed the pen, the brush, the chisel, and the camera. We began writing ourselves into existence in songs, in sculptures, in artworks, in oral traditions, and on the streets. Not to beg for space, but to seize it. Even make it. Not to decorate the margins, but to burn them. And in this fire, we found each other. Dalit History Month, founded a decade ago by anti-caste activists including Thenmozhi Soundararajan and Christina Dhanuja and celebrated each April, is not a token. It is a tactical intervention. A crack in the Brahminical fabric of Indian memory. It’s not a request for inclusion; it’s a declaration of rupture. One month cannot compensate for centuries of epistemicide, the deliberate erasure of our knowledge, our voices, our ancestors. But it can become a spark. A beginning. A ritual of remembrance and resistance. Siddhesh Gautam, “Race, Caste and What it will take to make Dalit Lives Matter” (2021), featuring illustrations of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and Jyotiba Phule We do not celebrate for spectacle. We do not mourn for pity. We organize because our liberation is not negotiable. Dalit History Month is a creative battle cry for dignity, for representation, for justice. It is not limited to Dr. B. R. “Babasaheb” Ambedkar, though he remains a guiding star and radical architect of liberty, equality, and fraternity. It is also a time to honor those who were rarely named in state archives but always remembered in our homes. We remember Savitribai Phule, who was stoned for teaching girls but never stopped walking to school. We remember Ramabai Ambedkar, who lived through poverty and grief so her partner could write the Constitution of an independent India. We remember Jyotiba Phule, who opened schools for Dalit students in the mid-1800s when the state refused to educate us. And Shahuji Maharaj, the king who waged a war of policy against caste in the early 1900s by reserving jobs and education for the oppressed at a time when even talking about caste was dangerous. Siddhesh Gautam, illustration of Savitribai and Fatima, walking hand in hand on the streets of Pune (2025) We remember Fatima Sheikh, who taught side by side with Savitribai, even when her own community disowned her. Babytai Kamble, the writer who broke the silence of Dalit womanhood with her raw, unflinching words. We remember Jhalkari Bai, the brave Dalit woman soldier who entered battle disguised as Rani Laxmibai in 1858 and fought the British army. Uda Devi, who climbed a tree and shot down British officers during the 1857 rebellion, her body eventually riddled with bullets and her name omitted from textbooks. Siddhesh Gautam, “Dharti Aaba: Birsa Munda” (2022), featuring Birsa Munda leading Ulgulan, a socio-cultural-intellectual and political movement that was later followed by the Mass Armed Rebellion against British colonialism as well as Hindu feudal and caste-based landlordism We remember Birsa Munda, the young Adivasi leader who led the Ulgulan, the great rebellion, not just against the British but against dominant-caste landlords who exploited his people. His bones still echo in the forests of Jharkhand. We remember the poets Kabir and Ravidas, whose verses shattered the silence of caste and whispered equality into generations of dreamers. And we also remember the present. Grace Banu, who hacked her way through both transphobia and caste discrimination to become a voice in tech and policy. Rohith Vemula, who took his own life in 2016, an institutional murder in a university space that reminded us that Brahminism doesn’t disappear with English education or a university seat, it mutates. This month is also for the unnamed, the countless victims of manual scavenging, caste lynchings, sexual violence, and systemic neglect. It is for every broken back and burning pyre. For the sweepers who were told their hands were dirty but whose touch was always divine. It is a collective mourning and a collective sharpening of our expressive tools. We do not only want history. We want revolution. And we are not waiting for permission. Because we’ve seen what happens when we wait — for justice that never came, for representation that always excluded, for savarnas to change, for institutions to reflect, for governments to care. Siddhesh Gautam, “Bezwada Wilson: STOP KILLING US” (2022), featuring the Stop Killing Us campaign launched in Delhi by the Safai Karamchari Andolan on May 09, 2022, a national awareness drive to underscore
Dalit settlements no longer colonies: Stalin
Chennai: Chief minister M K Stalin on Tuesday announced that the word ‘colony’ will be removed from all govt records and public usage. He described it as a symbol of discrimination against the indigenous people of the land and a term now associated with untouchability. Colonies refer to segregated residential areas in villages inhabited by dalits. The announcement came during Stalin’s speech during the debate on demand for grants for the home department in the assembly. He said the govt decided to act because the word was now being used in a derogatory sense. Stalin further stated that Sept 6 will be observed as ‘Police Day’ in Tamil Nadu. Responding to opposition criticism of the law-and-order situation in the state, Stalin issued a sharp rebuttal. “This is not Manipur, this is not Kashmir. There are no deaths like the UP Kumbh Mela. This is Tamil Nadu. Don’t forget that,” he said. Stalin said Tamil Nadu’s overall growth was rooted in its peaceful atmosphere, crediting the police force for maintaining law and order. He said while ministers and officials contribute to progress, the state’s development is built on the foundation of peace. “A peaceful state supports industrial growth, education, empowerment of women and youth, sports, and increased production,” Stalin said, commending the police for helping the state avoid major riots, violence, and unrest. He urged the police force not only to reduce crime but also to work towards preventing it. “Preventing crime is not the responsibility of the police alone. It requires the cooperation of the public,” he said. Calling on citizens to respect the law and practise self-discipline, Stalin said the public must avoid negligence and take active steps to prevent crime. He reminded police officers to treat people with respect and avoid letting personal biases affect their conduct. “Police and public must function as partners to maintain peace,” he said. Stalin went on to list several achievements of his govt, including the elimination of dropouts in middle schools and a 9.69% growth rate projected for 2024–25. Comparing govt’s challenges to a person trapped from all sides, the chief minister said, “Like a man with a snake above, foxes below, a moat if he jumps, and a wall if he runs, the state govt has achieved progress by overcoming Union govt on one side, governor on another and financial crunch on another side. “This is not the achievement of one person named Stalin. This is the result of the efforts of my cabinet and officials,” he said. “This is not a party’s govt. It is a govt based on a philosophy.” He ended his speech by saying, “Whatever achievement was witnessed so far is only Part-I of the Dravidian model govt. Version 2.0 is loading for 2026. We will create more records then,” he said. Courtesy: Times of India Note: This news is originally published on https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com and is for use by the non-military/non-commercial community, especially those in the human rights sector.
16-Year-Dalit Minor Girl Gang Raped In UP: Cops
He said that the father of the girl gave an application on April 27 alleging that Shailendra Saroj alias Zahid of the same village, his friend Sheru alias Nazar Ahmed and an unknown person gang-raped his daughter and threatened to kill her. Kaushambi, UP: A case of alleged gang-rape of a Dalit minor girl has come to light in the Kaushambi district of Uttar Pradesh, and the police have registered a case against three youths on the complaint of the victim’s father, police said on Tuesday. Additional Superintendent of Police Rajesh Singh said that on April 24, information was received that the 16-year-old girl had gone to a relative’s house after she was upset over something, and a missing report was registered. He said that the father of the girl gave an application on April 27 alleging that Shailendra Saroj alias Zahid of the same village, his friend Sheru alias Nazar Ahmed and an unknown person gang-raped his daughter and threatened to kill her. Mr Singh said that a case has been registered under relevant sections of the BNS, POCSO Act and Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Two teams have been formed to arrest the accused in the case and they will be arrested soon, the additional SP said. Courtesy: NDTV Note: This news is originally published on https://www.ndtv.com and is for use by the non-military/non-commercial community, especially those in the human rights sector.
MP: Dalit Man Denied Funeral Rights, Family Protests on Road as Upper Castes Block Cremation
Under section Section 3(1)(zc) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, preventing an SC/ST member from performing last rites is punishable with 6 months to 5 years in jail and a fine. Bhopal: A shocking incident of caste-based discrimination has exposed the administration’s apathy and the fragile social fabric in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district. On Monday, tensions flared in Leelada village under the Vijaypur assembly constituency when members of the Rawat community prevented the cremation of Jagdish Jatav, a Dalit youth, forcing his grieving family to stage a protest by placing his body on the road. The situation escalated to stone-pelting, with authorities struggling to restore order despite intervention. Jagdish Jatav, a resident of Leelada village who worked a private job in Bengaluru, died in a road accident. Five days later, his body was brought back to the village on Monday morning. When his family attempted to perform the last rites in the afternoon, members of the dominant Rawat community objected, sparking a violent confrontation. Furious over the obstruction, Jatav’s family and supporters blocked the road with his body, leading to clashes. The Jatav community claims their traditional cremation ground was acquired for a railway project, leaving them with no alternative site. Though the local patwari (revenue official) allocated government land for the funeral, the Rawat community resisted, arguing the land was near their farms. “This is government land, not privately owned. Yet, the Rawats won’t let us bury our dead,” said Suresh Jatav, a villager. In contrast, Rawat women asserted, “We won’t allow cremation near our fields. They must find another spot.” Furious over the obstruction, Jatav’s family and supporters blocked the road with his body, leading to clashes. Stones were hurled, prompting the SDM, Abhishek Mishra, and other officials to rush to the spot. Collector Arpit Verma admitted, “The situation is not fully under control. We are trying to maintain peace.” Furious over the obstruction, Jatav’s family and supporters blocked the road with his body, leading to clashes. The incident violates the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989: Section 3(1)(zc): Preventing an SC/ST member from performing last rites is punishable with 6 months to 5 years in jail and a fine. Political Outrage Congress MLA Mukesh Malhotra demanded strict action, warning of protests if an FIR isn’t filed. State Congress chief Jitu Patwari accused the BJP-backed Rawat supporters of “hooliganism,” calling it a failure of governance. Ex-CM Kamal Nath slammed the BJP, tweeting, “Dalits face discrimination even in death under this regime.” The incident raises grave questions about constitutional rights for Dalits in MP. Denial of funeral rights blatantly violates Article 17 (abolition of untouchability) and principles of social justice. Former SC Commission member Pradeep Ahirwar (now with Congress) accused the Mohan Yadav-led BJP government of enabling caste atrocities. “Top officials infected with Manuvadi ideology are denying Dalits equality. Police inaction proves complicity,” he told The Mooknayak. Courtesy: The Mooknayak Note: This news is originally published on https://en.themooknayak.com and is for use by the non-military/non-commercial community, especially those in the human rights sector.
Scheduled Caste government workers’ body opposes adding Dalit Christians or Muslims to Scheduled Caste list
Association writes to Justice-K.G. Balakrishnan panel saying such a move made for ‘political reasons’ would dilute their rights An association of Scheduled Caste government employees based out of Rajasthan has now written to the Justice K.G. Balakrishnan-led Commission of Inquiry, expressing fears that any addition to the SC list for “political reasons” — like that of Dalit Christians and Muslims — would “dilute our rights and benefits”. The Dr. Ambedkar Anusuchit Jati Adhikari Karmchari Manch (AJAK), based in Jaipur, has written to the Chairperson of the Commission, former Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan, saying that they “strongly oppose adding new groups, like Dalit Christians or Muslim, to the SC list”. The organisation, which represents government servants – both serving and retired, requested the Commission for a meeting in this regard, saying that it hoped the Commission would stand with it to protect the interests, rights, and benefits of existing Scheduled Caste communities in the country. It said, “From time to time, the State governments and Central government have been disrespecting and violating the Constitution of India for their political gains and have been changing the list of Scheduled Castes to serve their political interests.” Shriram Choradiya, President of AJAK, Rajasthan, told The Hindu that such changes to the SC list might lead to “Manipur-like” situations in parts of the country, adding that the government’s “ulterior motive” is to divide SC people. In the letter, AJAK also referenced the addition of communities to the SC list in Uttarakhand as sub-castes, by the State government, in 2013 and 2014, arguing this is violative of Article 341, which gives only Parliament the power to modify the list. In the letter, AJAK said, “We fear that adding new groups, like Dalit Christians or Muslims, to the SC list without strict checks will harm our rights and benefits.” Mr. Choradiya added, “We understand that caste discrimination does not stop even after changing one’s religion. But that should not be a cause to keep fiddling with the SC list. If they need to be protected, then let the government come up with a new category like they did for OBCs or even EWS category.” The Justice K.G. Balakrishnan-led Commission was constituted by the Union Social Justice Ministry in October 2022. It was instructed to assess if Christians and Muslims, who have historically belonged to SC communities, could be added to the SC list. Dalit Christians and Muslims have for decades now argued that changing their religion had not put an end to caste discrimination and have been demanding SC status. The Supreme Court has been hearing this issue for over 20 years now. Currently, only communities that practice Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism are permitted to be categorised as SC. Initially given two years to submit a report, the Commission’s tenure was extended in October 2024. It is now expected to submit its report on the issue by October this year. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government has made its position on the issue clear — both to the Commission of Inquiry and to the Supreme Court. Its argument has been that it was justified to exclude Dalit Christians and Muslims from the SC list, alluding to the “foreign origins” of Islam and Christianity. Courtesy : The Hindu Bureau, The Hindu Note: This news has been originally published on https://thehindu.com/state/madhya- and has been used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights.
Daughter and son-in-law were forced to drink poison for marrying a Dalit: What did the Supreme Court say about ‘casteism’ in the famous 2003 honor killing case of Tamil Nadu?
The case in which Kannagi, a young woman from the Vanniyar community and Murugesan, a Dalit, were murdered because of their inter-caste marriage is considered to be the first recorded honor killing case in Tamil Nadu. New Delhi- The Supreme Court upheld the sentence of 11 convicts in the famous 2003 honor killing case of Tamil Nadu and said that casteism, which has penetrated deep into Indian society, is the root cause of this heinous crime. This case, in which Kannagi, a young woman from the Vanniyar community and Murugesan, a Dalit, were murdered because of their inter-caste marriage, is considered to be the first recorded honor killing case in Tamil Nadu. Terming it as the “cruel reality of caste hierarchy”, a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Prashant Kumar Mishra, in a hearing held on 28 April 2025, said, “Such crimes, ironically called honour killings, require severe punishment. Case Details This heartbreaking crime took place on 7-8 July 2003 in Pudukorapettai village in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu. Kannagi (Vanniyar community) and Murugesan (Dalit community), both 20 years old, were in love with each other. Murugesan had completed his B.E. in Chemical Engineering from Chidambaram and was working in Bengaluru, while Kannagi was pursuing B.Com. Knowing Kannagi’s family’s disapproval, the two secretly got married on 5 May 2003 before the Registrar of Marriages in Cuddalore. In July 2003, when the two secretly left the village, the accused were arrested and the accused was arrested. Moved away, Kannagi’s brother Maruthupandiyan threatened Murugesan’s father Samikannu to bring Murugesan back. Maruthupandiyan falsely claimed that Murugesan had not returned the money he had borrowed from him. On 7 July, Murugesan was brought to the village, where he was stripped naked, tied to a pole and brutally beaten to reveal Kannagi’s whereabouts. This brutality took place in the presence of many people from the village, but no one tried to stop it. Murugesan eventually revealed the whereabouts of Kannagi, who was in Moongilthuraipattu village. Kannagi was brought to the village, and on the morning of 8 July, both were taken to a cashew orchard and forcibly administered the pesticide Nuvacron (monocrotophos). Kannagi’s father Duraisamy gave this poison to Maruthupandiyan, who first administered the poison to his sister and then to Murugesan. Murugesan’s stepmother Chinnapillai, who was an eyewitness to the horrific incident, confirmed this in court. Both died within minutes, and their bodies were burnt at different places. Two officers of Virudhachalam police station, Sub-Inspector K.P. Tamilmaran and Inspector M. Selamuthu, were accused of not registering an FIR immediately despite knowing about the crime. Chinnapillai tried to lodge a complaint on July 8, but was chased away from the police station with caste-related insults. The court said, “It is difficult to believe that such a heinous double murder could take place in the village and the in-charge of the police station was not aware of it.” The FIR was registered nine days later, on July 17, 2003, following media and political pressure. In the initial investigation, Sellamuthu falsely accused four Dalit members of Murugesan’s family, including his father Samikannu. The Supreme Court termed the investigation as “motivated and totally dishonest” which sought to “save the culprits and implicate the innocent”. The case was handed over to the CBI in 2004 on the direction of the Madras High Court, which filed a chargesheet against 15 accused in 2005. The trial court convicted 13 accused in 2021, awarding life imprisonment to 11 for murder and 2 under the SC/ST Act. Maruthupandian was awarded the death sentence, which was commuted to life imprisonment by the High Court in 2022. Supreme Court’s verdict and comments on casteism The Supreme Court upheld the Madras High Court’s verdict and upheld the conviction of 11 convicts. The sentence of one was limited to two years of rigorous imprisonment, while the life sentence of another accused was upheld as he was the “main architect of fabricating false evidence and implicating Dalits”. The court said, “At the root of this crime is India’s deeply ingrained caste hierarchy, and this most immoral act is termed as honour killing!” The court also commented on the witnesses being “hostile” and the delay tactics, stating, “The long and unreasonable delay… reflects the gross incompetence of the prosecution and the delay tactics of the defence.” While holding Chinnapillai’s testimony credible, the court clarified that “close relatives who are natural witnesses cannot be rejected merely on the ground that they are willing witnesses.” The Supreme Court ordered Samikannu and Chinnapillai to jointly pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh, which will be paid by the Tamil Nadu government. This amount will be in addition to the compensation awarded by lower courts. The court said, “Such a wicked and heinous crime requires severe punishment and victim compensation.” All the convicts out on bail were directed to surrender within two weeks. Courtesy : Geetha Sunil Pillai, Hindi News
Clashes erupt in MP as upper caste encroachers stop Dalit man’s last rites on govt land The two sides were pacified by senior police and administration officials.
Sheopur: The last rites of a Dalit man was stopped on a plot of government land by alleged encroachers from an upper caste in Sheopur in Madhya Pradesh on Monday, resulting in stone-pelting between two groups and a road blockade, a police official said. The incident took place in Leelda village, he said. “The Dalit man had died in an accident in Bengaluru some days ago. When his kin and community members were taking the body for last rites on a plot of government land encroached by some upper caste.members, the latter stopped them. The argument led to stone-pelting from both sides, after which members of the Jatav community, to which the deceased belongs, blocked the road by placing his body there,” the official said. The two sides were pacified by senior police and administration officials, Sheopur Superintendent of Police Virendra Jain said. Jain said the Jatav community’s crematorium was acquired by the railways, after which they were performing last rites on a plot of land in the possession of another community, which had triggered a deadlock. “The Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) are on the spot and have normalised the situation. Both sides are being counselled,” the SP said. A protester said the land belonged to the government and authorities had allowed them to conduct last rites here after the crematorium was taken over. However, upper caste men had illegally occupied this plot, he alleged. Courtesy: Deccan Herald Note: This news is originally published on https://www.deccanherald.com and is for use by the non-military/non-commercial community, especially those in the human rights sector.