Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Politics over caste” (April 4). Taking note of the misuse of the provisions of the SC/ST Atrocities Act, the Supreme Court rightly ruled against automatic arrests and registration of cases. It mandated an inquiry to ascertain if the complaint was justified and also required the permission of a senior superintendent or approval of nodal officer before arrests could be made.
Is it not the time for us to say that all Indian citizens are equalIJ Therefore, shouldn’t all of us be treated alike by the law, with the same opportunities for justice and the same punishments for crimesIJ What was wrong with the apex court’s recommendationsIJ Is it fair, one might ask, to lock up citizens, denying and violating their right to liberty, besides subjecting them to the humiliation and indignity of arrest and jail without prima facie evidence of guiltIJ
Instead of welcoming such humane and moderating recommendations, nearly every SC/ST leader and association has come out against them. Probably the timing of the order was unfortunate in that it suggested the judiciary has an upper-caste bias.
Not surprisingly, in Congress-ruled Karnataka,or non-BJP ruled Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, very little disruption to normal life was reported. One would have to be completely uninformed or naive to believe that the protests were not politically motivated or engineered by professional rioters.