Research attacks on SC/ST communities, provide data: Telangana high court tells PIL petitioners

Hyderabad: Telangana high court on Monday directed public interest litigation (PIL) petitioners to conduct proper research and place data before it regarding attacks on the Scheduled Castes (Scs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs), in response to a PIL alleging that the state govt was not taking steps to identify atrocity-prone areas and initiate preventive measures as prescribed under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The PIL, filed by city-based NGO Law Pilot Foundation director and advocate B Karthik Navayan, sought directions to the state and central govts to identify atrocity-prone areas across all states. The PIL also sought the initiation of preventive measures to safeguard SCs and STs from ongoing and potential future atrocities.

A bench, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas Rao, advised the petitioner to research deeply into the matter instead of making general statements. During the proceedings, the Chief Justice recollected his earlier career taking up PILs that resulted in improving healthcare facilities immediately after the formation of the state.

During the hearing, the Chief Justice remarked that while “ensuring protection of every citizen, particularly those belonging to the marginalized groups, is the priority, it is practically not possible to provide a gunman to each citizen”. The CJ further directed the petitioners to bring forth any material showing lapses or violations in the Act and its implementation.

The petitioner’s counsel, Srikanth Chintala, argued that despite constitutional safeguards and legal frameworks such as the SC & ST Act and the Protection of Civil Rights Act, SCs and STs continued to endure rampant discrimination, physical assaults, and systemic exclusion. “In 2023 alone, over 57,000 cases of crimes against SCs and STs were registered nationwide. Crimes against STs surged by 29% in the same year compared to previous years,” Srikanth informed the bench.

He stated that police and state administrations repeatedly failed to enforce protections, including the grossly neglected provision for identifying atrocity-prone areas and initiating preventive measures as mandated in the Act. “The only preventive measure authorities claim is the local police, along with the tahsildar, visiting villages, but nothing concrete is happening on the ground,” he added.

He cited a recent incident of a particular community attacking the Lakshmanachanda police station in Nirmal district during the recently concluded panchayat elections. According to Srikanth, members of an upper caste attacked an ST woman after finding out that she did not vote for them. When police picked up those involved in the attack, members of their community attacked the police station, forcibly taking away the individuals involved.

“Several such incidents are happening across the state, but are going unreported,” Srikanth said. He further added that to support his claims, regarding this case and several other incidents, he would submit news clippings and urged the court to take them into consideration.