MADURAI: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has issued notice to the director of Adi Dravidar Welfare Department T Anand for delaying compensation to the families of several victims of caste atrocities across the state. Sources said the compensation has been delayed allegedly because cases are pending before the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court.
Speaking to TNIE, Dalit Liberation Movement (DLM) state secretary C Karuppiah said, “There is a delay in releasing the second instalment of compensation to several families. Around 18 families filed a writ petition in the Madurai Bench of the Madras HC in 2017 but the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department delayed filing a reply.
On February 7, 2024, an affidavit was filed by the director of the Adi Dravidar Welfare department stating the delay was due to cases pending in the court. The SC/ST Act clearly mentions that first instalment of compensation (20-25%) should be offered after FIR is filed. The second Instalment (25-30%) should be given after chargesheet/ postmortem, and the rest should be given after conviction.”
NCSC director Dr S Ravivarman said, “We don’t know why the top official from the department filed such an affidavit. There could be several reasons. But such an affidavit cannot be taken lightly. So, a show cause notice was sent under Sec 4 of SC/ST Act against the director.”
‘Don’t force shop owners to change nameboards’
Chennai: The Madras HC has directed the authorities not to take coercive action against the owners of shops regarding changing the nameboards by displaying names in Tamil. Justice V Lakshminarayan issued the direction on a petition filed by a Mumbai-based Retailers Association of India.
The judge ordered the authorities, including the commissioner of Greater Chennai Corporation, to consider and pass orders on the representation submitted by the association in four weeks. As the deadline was set for May 30, the association approached the court praying for extending time for changing the nameboards.