‘In the interests of justice’: cases of caste violence in the Supreme Court of India

The caste system hierarchically stratifies society into distinct groups, perpetuating systemic discrimination and violence that affects nearly a quarter of the world’s population. While the caste-based discrimination is prevalent across South Asia and among diaspora communities, it is most pronounced in India, where the formerly untouchable communities, now collectively identified as Dalits, are subjected to extreme marginalisation and violence. Caste-based discrimination is constitutionally recognised in India, and as a form of descent-based discrimination under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

In India, legislative measures addressing the caste-based discrimination have evolved since the pre-independence period, culminating in the enactment of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, which explicitly criminalises caste-based violence against the oppressed castes by the dominant castes. In the context of growing caste violence in India, and caste increasingly becoming a legal issue elsewhere, this thesis critically examines the cases of caste violence adjudicated by the Supreme Court of India within the Indian legal framework.

The study begins by situating the contemporary manifestations of caste violence within their historical context, extending from the pre- and early colonial, colonial, and post-colonial eras in India. It then traces the legislative evolution of anti-discrimination laws, leading to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989, which criminalises caste atrocities committed by the oppressor castes against the outcastes in India. Subsequently, it thematically analyses the cases involving caste-based violence that were appealed to the Supreme Court of India, including the nature of the violence, the judicial responses of lower courts, and the reasons for escalation to the Supreme Court. Finally, it systematically categorises and critically evaluates the Supreme Court judgments in the appeals arising from caste atrocity proceedings under the PoA Act.

Following a comprehensive analysis of caste atrocity jurisprudence, the findings reveal significant gaps and the inadequacies in the legal framework and the justice system in delivering justice in caste atrocity cases, and the systemic exclusion of the marginalised communities from accessing justice.