[Marxistindia] Grave Concern over SC Judgement on Applicability of SC-ST Act

[news from the cpi(m)]

May 13, 2026

Press Statement

 

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the
following statement:

 

Grave Concern over SC Judgement on Applicability of SC-ST Act

 

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses grave
concern over the judgement passed by a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court
according to which "In order to make out the offence under Section 3(1)(r)
and/or Section 3(1)(s) of the SC/ST Act, the occurrence of the incident and
the act and conduct of hurling of caste-based abuses must take place at 'a
place within public view'. It must be a place within the public gaze. Even
if it happens to be a private place, then in such eventuality, a public eye
must have an access to be able to notice what happens there or what is
taking place that will only make the 'place within public view'."
Unfortunately, the SC in the Girija Kumari & Others v/s State of Delhi
adopted a narrow, legalistic view and ordered that the FIR and charge-sheet
be quashed.

 

This ruling is a matter of concern for several reasons. For one, it comes at
a time when atrocities against people belonging to the SC and ST communities
are seeing an exponential rise in most parts of the country. Secondly, the
judgment is the latest in a series of SC judgments and pronouncements which
adversely impact the rights of members of these communities. It would be
tragic if this latest judgment increases incidents of humiliation and abuse
of SC and ST persons in the privacy of homes, offices, schools, colleges and
such other public spaces because perpetrators believe that it confers them
with impunity before the law.

 

The CPI(M) demands the union government to immediately intervene and appeal
the Supreme Court to revisit the judgement.

 

Muralidharan

(For CPI(M) Central Committee Office)

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://cpim.org/pipermail/marxistindia_cpim.org/attachments/20260513/874a54f0/attachment.html>