The Madras high court has said that district revenue officials and police officers cannot conduct kangaroo courts in the guise of peace committee meetings to resolve caste disputes across Tamil Nadu and added that as government officials they are bound to protect the constitutional rights of citizens.
Justice P Velmurugan made the remarks while passing orders on a plea that was filed by two petitioners from Perambalur district. The plea sought a peace committee meeting, which was held on June 3 by local authorities, to be quashed as “illegal and unconstitutional with respect to continuing discriminatory practices” against the Dalits by denying them access to chariot procession of the deity during the ongoing Shree Vedha Mariyamman Temple festival.
The petitioners, Vinod Kumar and Manikanda, had also sought a direction to six Perambalur district officials, including the collector, police officers and revenue department officials, to ensure that during the festival the temple chariot reaches the streets of Veppanthattai Village, where the Dalit members live.
Peace committee meetings in Tamil Nadu have existed for a long time and chaired by district collectors, police officers, and revenue officials by bringing representatives from the Dalit community and dominant castes together. It can be either to diffuse a caste conflict between them, or reach an agreement over an issue.
Additional advocate general J Ravidran submitted to the court that the petitioners who were also present during the peace committee’s meeting had given their consent for the chariot to move as done earlier and now they cannot file such a petition and argued that it was not maintainable.
{{/usCountry}}Additional advocate general J Ravidran submitted to the court that the petitioners who were also present during the peace committee’s meeting had given their consent for the chariot to move as done earlier and now they cannot file such a petition and argued that it was not maintainable.
{{/usCountry}}After hearing both sides, the court said the petitioners have earlier moved the temple chariot through their streets and according to the official respondents, there is no space for moving the chariot to consider the request of the petitioners. So, the court called upon the secretary of the District Legal Services Authority of the Perambalur district to assist the court.
“Now the request of the petitioners is that there is adequate space available to move the temple chariot. The secretary... is directed to inspect the Temple and the Village and measure the length and breadth of the Chariot and also the length and breadth of the disputed Streets and also as to whether the Temple chariot can pass through the Streets which the petitioners claim,” the court said in its orders, dated June 10.
The justice ordered the secretary to file a report by July 8 and posted the case to that date.