MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday observed that the duty of the court becomes heavier when considering objections made by victims of caste atrocities against granting bail to the accused. Such objections from victims need to be considered from a proper perspective, it added.
Justice AD Jagadish Chandira observed so while allowing the petitions filed by D Lakshmanan and D Suresh in 2020 and 2021, to cancel the bail granted by the III Additional District and Sessions Court (PCR Court), Madurai to five persons, who were booked under various sections of IPC and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 for attempting to murder the duo over a land dispute in 2020.
The judge observed that the SC/ST Act was specifically enacted to deter acts of indignity, humiliation and harassment against members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. But the Act is also a recognition of the depressing reality that despite undertaking several measures, the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes continue to be subjected to various atrocities at the hands of dominant castes, he added.
“Therefore, when a bail application is moved in respect of an offence alleged to have been committed against a person belonging to SC/ST at the hands of other dominant castes and the same has been objected by the victim, the duty cast upon the court becomes heavier to consider the objection in a proper perspective,” the judge observed.