PIL against racial violence: SC asks attorney general to consider plea
New Delhi (PTI): Identifying persons on grounds of race, region, sex and caste would amount to treading a regressive path, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday while refusing to entertain a PIL seeking to prevent discrimination and violence against citizens from the northeast and other regions.
“A crime is a crime and it must be dealt with an iron hand,” a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said. It asked Attorney General R Venkataramani to consider and refer the petition to an appropriate authority.
"Identifying persons on the ground of race, region, sex and caste would amount to treading a regressive path after so many years of independence," the bench said.
At the outset, petitioner Anoop Prakash Awasthi, a Delhi-based lawyer, said the matter was raised on the floor of Parliament but lawmakers declined to make any such agency to deal with such hate crimes.
The PIL was filed on December 28 last year in the backdrop of the brutal killing of Anjel Chakma, a 24-year-old MBA student from Tripura. Chakma died on December 26, 2025 to grievous injuries sustained in a racially motivated attack in Selaqui area of Dehradun.
The lawyer said no one came forward to save Chakma.
The apex court refused to entertain the PIL and said, “As of now, we deem it appropriate that the aforesaid issue ought to be brought before the competent authority.”
“The instant writ petition is disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to hand over the soft copy of the petition to the office of AG , also along with a copy of this order,” the bench said, adding that the top law officer will do the needful.
The PIL has sought judicial intervention to address the "continuing constitutional failure" to prevent and respond to racial discrimination and violence against citizens from northeastern states and other frontier regions.
Chakma had gone to Dehradun after completing his graduation in Holy Cross School, Agartala, to pursue an MBA. He was stabbed to death in the presence of his younger brother Michael.
His family members want capital punishment or at least life imprisonment for all the accused involved in the incident. The plea made the Centre and all the states and Union territories as parties.
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Bengal polls: TMC seeks removal of Bhabanipur poll official, alleges proximity with BJP's Suvendu
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Kolkata (PTI): The TMC sought the immediate removal of the returning officer for the Bhabanipur assembly constituency in West Bengal, alleging he has proximity with BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari.
In a representation submitted to Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Friday, the ruling party raised objections to the appointment of RO for the Bhabanipur seat in southern Kolkata.
The party alleged that the returning officer has a “documented and close association” with Adhikari, who is contesting from Bhabanipur against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Adhikari is also in the electoral fray from Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district.
According to the complaint, the RO had earlier served as block development officer in Nandigram-II, where his proximity to Adhikari was allegedly visible in public engagements.
The TMC claimed that such an association creates a “reasonable apprehension of bias” and "compromises the neutrality" required for conducting elections.
The party also questioned the RO's current posting as additional director of land records, stating that the position is typically held by more senior officers.
The TMC alleged that his appointment to the role, particularly ahead of elections, raises concerns of “preferential and motivated deployment”.
Emphasising the critical role of a returning officer, the TMC said the official is responsible for key electoral processes, including nomination scrutiny, conduct of polling and declaration of results, and therefore must be “unimpeachably neutral”.
Citing Article 324 of the Constitution and provisions of the Representation of the People Act, the Trinamool Congress argued that the Election Commission is duty-bound to ensure free and fair polls by appointing officers without any perceived bias.
On 24th March, we formally wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner and CEO, West Bengal, flagging serious concerns over the appointment of Surajit Roy as Returning Officer for Bhabanipur.
— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) April 3, 2026
We presented clear evidence of his close ties with Suvendu Adhikari from his days as BDO,… pic.twitter.com/i6Rybh4xDt
The party also referred to the Model Code of Conduct, which mandates administrative neutrality, and alleged that the RO's continuation violates these principles.
The TMC representation noted that the Election Commission had earlier sought a panel of three alternative officers from the state government, following a complaint lodged on March 24.
While the state complied, no decision has yet been taken to replace the RO, the letter, signed by senior TMC leaders Shashi Panja, Aroop Biswas, Baiswanor Chattopadhyay, claimed.
Calling the situation "constitutionally untenable" and "electorally dangerous", the TMC urged the EC to take "immediate, reasoned and transparent action to ensure the integrity of the electoral process".
