Casteism prevails even after 75 yrs of independence: SC

The apex court, which delivered its verdict on a batch of pleas in a 1991 Uttar Pradesh honour killing case, in which three persons, including a woman were killed, said it had earlier issued several directions to authorities to take strong measures to prevent honour killings. Those directives should be carried out without any further delay, it said.

A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao also said that to avert trial getting tainted and “truth becoming a casualty”, the State has a definite role to play in protecting witnesses, to start with, at least in sensitive cases involving those in power who have political patronage and could wield muscle and money power.

It said that “bigotry” perpetuated by caste-based practices, which are prevalent even today, impedes the Constitution’s objective of equality for all citizens. “Two young men and a woman were physically assaulted for nearly 12 hours and killed by the accused for violating caste-ridden societal norms. These episodes of caste-motivated violence in the country demonstrates the fact that casteism has not been annihilated even after 75 years of independence,” the bench, also comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and B R Gavai, said.