E-Paper
Case against jaat panchayat for social boycott of family
A case was registered against 14 people by Pimpri Chinchwad police on Wednesday for social boycott of a family for not involving the jaat panchayat in a legal divorce matter
A case was registered against 14 people by Pimpri Chinchwad police on Wednesday for social boycott of a family for not involving the jaat panchayat in a legal divorce matter.
The complaint in the matter was lodged by a member of the “gondhali” community. The complainant divorced his wife in 2018 due to personal issues between them.
However, the couple did not include the jaat panchayat, which operates like an extra-judicial community court, in the process.
The complainant has lodged a plaint saying his family has been socially outcast for not consulting with the panchayat.
Among those booked in the case are four are the heads of the panchayat and are immediate family members of each other, the others act as panch in the system.
The law that came into effect in 2016 in Maharashtra makes it illegal to hold and issue community decrees to boycott anyone from the community.
Multiple other cases have been registered in the past against jaat panchayats of other communities.
In some cases, the panch ask for money in order to solve familial issues.
A case under Section 120(b) (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code along with Sections 5 and 6 of the Maharashtra Protection of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2016 was registered at Wakad police station.
