A Mumbai special court has sentenced a 32-year-old man to six months of rigorous imprisonment for making derogatory remarks about Dr B R Ambedkar and using casteist slurs against an advocate. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the accused, identified as Shakil.

Special Judge Y P Manathkar, hearing cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, found him guilty under Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(v) of the Act. The court, however, acquitted him of charges of voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation for lack of sufficient evidence.

What happened in the 2016 case

The case dates back to Oct. 13, 2016, when advocate Vinod Satpute was allegedly confronted near RNA Colony in Vashinaka, Chembur.

According to the prosecution, Shakil demanded that Satpute withdraw an earlier police complaint. When Satpute refused, the accused allegedly abused him using caste-based slurs and made derogatory comments about Dr Ambedkar.

Satpute later filed an FIR at RCF police station.

The defence argued that the case was the result of personal enmity. It also pointed to the absence of independent witnesses and CCTV footage.

The court rejected the argument. It said the incident took place on a public street near residential buildings and a pan shop. It held that the prosecution had established that the remarks were made in public view.

The court also found the statements of Satpute and his brother consistent. Their evidence was supported by the spot panchnama.

Recent cases involving remarks against Ambedkar

The judgment comes amid a series of cases involving alleged insults against Dr Ambedkar.

In August, the Chhattisgarh High Court refused to quash criminal proceedings against a woman accused of posting derogatory remarks about Dr Ambedkar on Instagram. The court said the allegations, taken at face value, disclosed cognisable offences and should not be tested at the quashing stage.

In April, a Chennai court acquitted VHP leader RBVS Manian in a case involving alleged derogatory remarks about Ambedkar, Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar and members of Scheduled Castes. The court held that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. 

In March 2025, the Bombay High Court quashed an SC/ST Act case over remarks concerning Ambedkar, holding that the conversation relied upon by the prosecution did not disclose disrespect towards him.

Why Ambedkar remains a caste flashpoint

These cases point to a larger conflict over Ambedkar's place in Indian public life.

Ambedkar was not only the chairman of the Constitution's drafting committee. He was one of India's most forceful critics of caste hierarchy. His politics sought to dismantle the social system that assigned status and power by birth.

That makes attacks on Ambedkar different from ordinary political insults. For millions of Dalits, Ambedkar represents the struggle to move from caste-based humiliation to equal citizenship.

Dalit scholar and public intellectual Anand Teltumbde has argued that Ambedkar's importance lies precisely in his challenge to the existing social order. In a 2026 interview, he described Ambedkar's central legacy as his challenge to hierarchy and his struggle for the emancipation of Dalits. 

Teltumbde has also argued that caste in India cannot be understood simply as an individual prejudice. In an earlier interview, he said that "caste-class is what determines your life chances." 

Ambedkar challenged the idea that caste hierarchy was natural or legitimate. He demanded political representation, dignity, access to public resources and equality before the law for communities historically treated as "untouchable."

His movements directly confronted caste privilege. The 1927 Mahad Satyagraha, for instance, challenged the denial of access to public water to Dalits. His later work went further, arguing that caste itself had to be dismantled.

That legacy continues to make his name politically charged.

(With inputs from PTI)