Tragic Loss: 13-Year-Old Student Ends Life in Dakshina Kannada

Bengaluru: The leaked contents of Karnataka’s long-awaited caste census suggest a significant policy shift—extending the creamy layer rule to Category 1 castes under the backward classes reservation list. This category includes some of the most disadvantaged nomadic and microscopic communities.

The commission, headed by Jayaprakash Hegde, has reportedly recommended that the creamy layer policy—already applied to categories 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B—be extended to Category 1. The report notes that some groups within Category 1 have achieved considerable progress socially, economically, educationally, and politically, thus justifying the introduction of a filtering mechanism.

The panel emphasized the growing inequality within Category 1 itself, stating that children from impoverished farming and labourer families are unable to compete with the children of wealthier households in the same category.

“The competition is stiff here and there is a threat that this category may become one populated by the rich in due course if the creamy layer policy is not implemented,” the report reportedly states.

It further underlines that to fulfil the constitutional goal of equitable opportunities, the policy must be introduced across all categories of backward classes, including Category 1.

New Delhi: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has written to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urging the state government to enact a law named Rohith Vemula Act for ensuring that no one faces caste-based discrimination in the education system.

In his letter to the Karnataka CM, Gandhi highlighted the discrimination BR Ambedkar faced in his lifetime.

"Here he describes an incident during a long bullock cart journey: 'There was plenty of food with us. There was hunger burning within us; with all this we were to sleep without food; that was because we could get no water, and we could get no water because we were untouchables'.

"He tells us about his experience in school: 'I knew I was an untouchable, and that untouchables were subjected to certain indignities and discriminations. For instance, I knew that in the school I could not sit in the midst of my classmates according to my rank, but I was to sit in a corner by myself'," Gandhi said quoting Ambedkar.

The Congress leader said Siddaramaiah would agree that what Ambedkar faced was shameful and should not be endured by any child in India.

"It is a shame that even today millions of students from Dalit, Adivasi and OBC communities have to face such brutal discrimination in our educational system," Gandhi said.

"The murder of bright young people like Rohith Vemula, Payal Tadvi and Darshan Solanki is simply not acceptable. It is time to put a firm end to this. I urge the Karnataka government to enact the Rohith Vemula Act so that no child of India has to face what Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Rohit Vemula and millions of others have had to endure," Gandhi said in his letter to the Karnataka chief minister dated April 16.

Rohith Vemula, a Dalit student, died by suicide due to caste-based discrimination, in 2016.

Sharing the letter on X, Gandhi said, "Recently, I met students and teachers from Dalit, Adivasi and OBC communities in Parliament. During the conversation, they told me how they have to face caste-based discrimination in colleges and universities." Ambedkar had shown that education is the only means by which even the deprived can become empowered and break the caste system, Gandhi said.

But it is very unfortunate that even after decades, lakhs of students are facing caste discrimination in our education system, he said.

"This discrimination has taken the lives of promising students like Rohith Vemula, Payal Tadvi and Darshan Solanki. Such horrific incidents cannot be tolerated at any cost. Now is the time to put a complete stop to this injustice," he said.

"I have written a letter to Siddaramaiah ji and requested that the Rohith Vemula Act be implemented in Karnataka. No child in India should face the casteism that Babasaheb Ambedkar, Rohith Vemula and crores of people have suffered," he said.

New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain petitions filed by the NIA against the bail granted to 17 Popular Front of India members in the 2022 murder case of RSS leader Srinivasan in Kerala's Palakkad district.

A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and N Kotiswar Singh noted that the Kerala High Court order granting bail to the accused is one-year-old and the HC has the power to cancel bail if the conditions are violated.

"Our attention is invited to observation made in the last part of the impugned order by which high court has reserved liberty to the petitioners to apply to special court for cancellation of bail.

"Therefore, the petitioners can always apply to the special court for cancellation of bail on the grounds which are set out in the affidavits filed in these petitions. In fact the special court will be the more appropriate court," the bench said.

The top court said the agency can satisfy the special court about the breach of terms and conditions of grant of bail by producing materials against the accused.

"Therefore, at this stage we decline to entertain the special leave petitions with liberty to the petitioners to move the special court/high court for cancellation of bail. Needless to say that if the prayer made by petitioner does not succeed before the special court/high court remedies of the petitioners remain open.

"We make it clear that as and when application is made for cancellation of bail the special court or high court should not be influenced by the fact that this court has declined to entertain the present special leave petitions," the bench said.

During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Raja Thakare, appearing for the NIA, sought cancellation of the bail and submitted that the accused have violated the bail conditions and have contacted the witnesses.

The Kerala High Court on June 25, 2024 granted bail to the 17 accused PFI members, who are also facing trial for allegedly instigating communal violence in the state and other parts of the country.

Granting bail to 17 of the 26 accused, the high court imposed stringent conditions, which include sharing their cellphone numbers and real-time GPS locations with the investigating officer.

Aside from that, the accused were ordered not to leave Kerala, surrender their passports and keep their cellphones charged and active round-the-clock.

It had directed the 17 to "present themselves before the special court which shall enlarge them on bail on such conditions as the special court may deem necessary".

Initially, 51 persons were arraigned as accused in connection with the murder of Srinivasan on April 16, 2022. One among those held died while seven others are absconding.

Chargesheets against the remaining persons were filed in two phases in July and December, 2022.

While police was investigating the murder, the Centre received information that the office bearers and cadres of the Popular Front of India and its affiliates in Kerala had conspired to instigate communal violence and radicalise its cadres to commit terrorist acts in Kerala and other parts of the country, the high court noted in its order.

Therefore, the Centre in September, 2022 directed the National Investigation Agency to take up and probe the case against the accused.

On December 19, 2022, the Centre, referring to Srinivasan's death, opined there was a larger conspiracy hatched by the leaders of the PFI "which has grave national and international ramifications" that needed to be "thoroughly investigated to unearth the wider conspiracy and to identify the other accused".

The Centre directed the NIA to take up the probe in the murder case as well, and the agency filed its consolidated chargesheet in 2023 with two supplementary chargesheets later.

Immediately after the respective NIA chargesheets were filed before the special court, the accused moved for bail.