The Madras High Court on Thursday observed that the recent assembly election results in Tamil Nadu have demonstrated that people can be convinced to vote without considering the caste or community of the contestants. The court therefore urged the government to take responsibility for eradicating caste from the minds of the people.
Caste Killing as Extreme Reflection
Justice B Pugalendhi, terming caste killing as the extreme reflection of casteism, noted that a government has been formed by largely nullifying caste factors. The court highlighted that 59 ‘honour killings’ were reported in the state over the past 10 years.
“No matter how powerful or privileged a person is, everyone is experiencing casteism in one form or another. Even we judges are not spared from the same. Motives are attributed to our orders on the basis of caste, even though cases are decided on merit,” the judge remarked.
Communal Projections of Leaders
The judge pointed out that historical figures like K Kamaraj, Muthuramalinga Thevar, and V O Chidambaram are now projected on communal lines. “This mindset of the people has to be changed, and the state alone can bring about such a change,” he said, adding that the state must take strong initiatives. However, the court noted that certain political parties are fueling this social evil by using caste to mobilize votes.
Unimplemented Recommendations
The judge observed that measures recommended by the Justice K Chandru committee to eradicate casteism and ensure social harmony in schools have not been fully implemented. Legislation such as the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has not yielded expected results. The judge cited example of soldiers from diverse castes, communities, languages, and regions uniting for a common cause, urging citizens to reject caste prejudices.
Bail Plea in Honour Killing Case
The court made these observations while hearing the bail plea of suspended sub-inspector of police K Saravanan, father of Surjith, the main accused in a caste killing case where youth C Kavin Selva Ganesh was murdered in Tirunelveli district.
Considering that Saravanan has been in jail for 10 months, his wife arrested, and the final report filed, the judge said keeping him in jail longer would amount to pre-trial imprisonment. The court granted bail with stringent conditions, directing him to stay in Coimbatore and report to R S Puram police station twice daily at 10:30 am and 5 pm.
