Caste violence victims insist on separate law
Madurai: Gaps and delays in police and judicial processes are leading to low conviction rate in SC/ST Act cases, according to survivors and family members of victims of caste-based crimes who attended a consultative meeting in Madurai on Sunday.
The meeting, organised by Evidence, a Madurai-based NGO working for dalit rights, put forth suggestions to bring down such crimes in
Tamil Nadu
. Kausalya, anti-caste activist and survivor of a caste killing, said such crimes need to be addressed before they escalate. "When a couple has an inter-caste love marriage, they are immediately faced with a lot of mental challenges. There have been cases of the bride being kidnapped or restrained.
These too need to be addressed as caste crimes. The state govt is adamant about not framing a separate law for honour killings," she said.
Evidence executive director A Kathir said there are numerous hurdles in SC/ST Act cases, right from the filing of FIR. "Over 7,000 SC/ST Act cases are pending in court, and Madurai tops the list. Such cases on an average take over five years. Also, there are convictions only in around 3% of these cases.
That too, mainly because the crimes committed were heinous," he said.
The mother of M Alagendran, 21, of Virudhunagar, who was murdered by a gang from another SC community in June 2024, said her son was killed due to a love affair with a girl, by her relatives. "However, this case will not come under the SC/ST Act as the victim and accused are from different communities under SC. But, it is still an honour killing, which is why we need a separate law," said A Kathir. He said the State Level High Power Vigilance and Monitoring Committee constituted under the chief minister is not functioning effectively, especially at the grassroots level.
An award for best service for social change was presented to film director Era Saravanan during the event, for his contributions in highlighting and fighting against caste discrimination.
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