'The upper caste elite's belief that they are casteless is a belief that is available only to the upper castes. Because all the lower castes are reminded by society every day what their caste is.'
A bench headed by Justice A K Sikri said the pending review petition filed by the Centre against the apex court's March 20, 2018 verdict and the pleas challenging the new amendments made in the SC/ST verdict will be taken up together.
Two accused, arrested in connection with the death of a 19-year-old Arunachal Pradesh youth, on Friday argued in a Delhi court that they be granted bail as they have not been booked for murder charges and the offences alleged against them were bailable.
A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran passed the order on a bunch of petitions which had opposed the legislations brought by the Nitish Kumar government in November 2023.
'Only the smoke is coming out now. Let us prevent the lava from coming out by taking proper measures.' 'I have told every leader that you cannot have a stable government without winning the confidence of the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and the most backward castes.' 'Leaders feel that by giving a sop here and there and by symbolic actions, they can win votes. That's all they want. Votes.'
'Young Dalits are looking for better educational opportunities, more job avenues in the private sector, which need not necessarily mean job quotas, but a more welcoming corporate world that offers a liberated social environment, essentially a new India.'
The NCSC directed that action be taken against concerned police officials for not registering a case in this regard.
While asking the Centre to set up the delimitation panel, the top court, however, said it cannot direct Parliament to amend or make laws for giving proper representation to other communities that form part of the STs as that would amount to "venturing into the legislative domain".
'The government should immediately enact an Act to make caste discrimination a criminal offence and lay down a procedure similar to that of the Anti-Ragging Act.' 'Ragging has nearly been eliminated because it is treated as a criminal offence.' 'Similar procedure should be used in case of caste discrimination.'
A young Dalit woman was allegedly thrown into a hot cauldron of a jaggery-making unit for protesting against molestation in the Budaun district, police said on Sunday.
According to the Centre's legislative business list for the upcoming session, three bills have also been listed to replace three ordinances.
Karnataka Minister D Sudhakar and three others have been booked by the police in Bengaluru based on a complaint by a woman alleging atrocities against her and her family and an assault on her daughter over a property dispute, police officials said on Tuesday.
A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has sentenced a man to 20 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) for raping a minor girl in 2021, relying on the deposition of the six-year-old victim and other prosecution witnesses.
The bench said, given the pressing nature of the crisis, particularly in cities like Kota, Jaipur, Sikar, Vishakhapatnam, Hyderabad, and Delhi, where students migrate in large numbers, immediate interim safeguards are the call of the day.
Assam journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumder was arrested for a second time on Thursday after being granted bail in a previous case where he was accused of attempting to steal bank documents. The arrest came after Mozumder questioned the Managing Director of the Assam Cooperative Apex Bank Limited about alleged financial irregularities. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that Mozumder is not a "recognized journalist" as the government only recognizes journalists from print and electronic media.
The Congress has lodged complaints with the Election Commission against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing them of making 'false, divisive, malicious and slanderous' statements during their recent election campaign.
Bhalerao was passing by on Thursday evening when the accused were celebrating the wedding of a man from a so-called upper caste community and some of them were carrying swords, the police official said.
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan had reportedly taken steps to implement the order, they have now decided to put its execution in abeyance.
Former Mumbai zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau Sameer Wankhede on Thursday filed an affidavit in a court in Maharashtra's Washim district, stating their family belongs to a Scheduled Caste community and has not embraced any other religion.
'The upper castes think Dalits get reservation while they are deprived of it'
The Supreme Court of India has formed a National Task Force (NTF) to address the growing concern of student suicides in higher educational institutions. The court took note of the recurring cases and directed Delhi Police to register FIRs on the complaints of families of two students who died by suicide at IIT Delhi in 2023. The NTF, chaired by former apex court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat, will prepare a comprehensive report, including the identification of causes leading to suicides, analysis of existing regulations, and recommendations for strengthening protections. The NTF will also have the authority to conduct surprise inspections of higher educational institutions and make further recommendations to ensure a holistic approach to addressing mental health concerns and eliminating suicides.
On India, while appreciating the measures adopted by it to address discrimination, the Committee expressed concern about alleged discrimination and violence against minority groups, including religious minorities, such as Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs, "scheduled castes" and "scheduled tribes", and LGBTI people.
NCST acting vice-chairperson Ananta Nayak said they have also received complaints against a politician, which they would include in their report to the President, the official added.
Besides the bills, the government has listed the first batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2023-24 for presentation, discussion and voting during the session.
It is unusual in democratic countries two decades into the 21st century for laws to become regressive instead of progressive. But that is clearly what is happening in India today and more of this is ahead, asserts Aakar Patel.
After a video of the incident went viral on social media, the police arrested Sumit Chowdhary, Jaipal Singh Baghel and Prem Singh Parmar on Saturday.
Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has criticized the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, calling it a 'brazen assault' on the Constitution and part of the BJP's strategy to keep society in a 'permanent state of polarization.' She also spoke out against the One Nation, One Election Bill, calling it a 'subversion of the Constitution.' Gandhi further accused the Modi government of ignoring the women's reservation bill and other demands for reservation, and of 'dragging the country into an abyss' where the Constitution will only exist on paper. She also criticized the government for limiting the speaking time of the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and for not allowing discussions on important issues like the working of the defense and external affairs ministries and the challenges posed by China on the border.
Six people were detained after they pelted stones at a Dalit man's marriage procession after he rode a mare against their wish, police said on Friday.
"We are of the considered opinion that hoisting saffron flag and shouting slogans would not amount to any offence punishable under the Atrocities Act," the judges said.
A massive hunt has been launched by the Andaman Nicobar administration to nab the persons responsible for videographing semi-naked Jarawa tribal women dancing in front of tourists as the Centre sent the footage for forensic analysis.
Police have registered a case against unknown persons in connection with the shooting and uploading of a video showing semi-naked Jarawa tribal women dancing in front of tourists.
Hitting out at the ruling Congress in Karnataka, he said the party failed to confer the Bharat Ratna on Ambedkar when it was in power.
An FIR has been registered in Meerut against Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's personal assistant on a complaint from party member and actor Archana Gautam's father who alleged that his daughter was threatened with death, the police said on Wednesday.
The CBI has so far registered eight cases which include two related to alleged sexual assault on women in Manipur.
A First Information Report was also registered against the victim on a complaint filed by some of the accused, said an official of the local Kakoshi village police station.
Some persons allegedly accosted and snatched the girl's school bag and told her not to attend school as other girls of the village were not doing so.
Mishra was accused of sharing Pal's location from a Prayagraj court before the latter along with two policemen was shot dead on February 24.
The Supreme Court, examining whether states can sub-classify Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for grant of quota inside quota, on Wednesday said all SCs and STs may not be homogeneous in terms of their sociological, economic, education and social status.
The Union Cabinet also decided to promulgate an ordinance -- The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 -- to give reservation benefits to the people living along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, who often face shelling from across the border.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Justice (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde said that a larger bench will decide the pleas filed by 35 petitioners challenging Centre's decision.
