All You Need To Know About SC/ST Act, Case Against Infosys Co-Founder Kris Gopalakrishnan (image:www.infosys.com)
Bengaluru, Karnataka: On Monday (January 27), a case was registered against Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, former IISc Director Balaram and 16 others under the Prevention of SC/ST Atrocities Act. Following instructions from the 71st City Civil and Sessions Court (CCH), the case was filed at Bengaluru’s Sadashiva Nagar Police Station.
What is the Case?
The complainant, Durgappa, a tribal Bovi community member and former faculty at the Centre for Sustainable Technology, IISc alleged that he was falsely accused in a honey trap case in 2014 and subsequently dismissed from service pointing the same reason. He also claimed that he was subjected to casteist abuse and threats. The complainant alleges wrongful dismissal, conspiracy and caste-based harassment. The persons booked under the act include Kris Gopalakrishnan, Govindan Rangarajan, Sridhar Warrier, Sandya Vishwswaraih, Hari K V S, Dasappa, Balaram P, Chattopadyaya K,. Hemalata Mhishi, Pradeep D Sawkar, and Manoharan. Neither IISc faculty nor Gopalakrishnan, who also serves as a member of the IISc Board of Trustees has responded to the case so far.
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What is SC/ST Act?
The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 meant to protect the rights of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) from various forms of abuse, discrimination, and violence. Popularly known as the SC/ST Act, the Prevention of Atrocities Act, POA, or the Atrocities act, the legislation was enacted on September 11, 1989 by the Parliament of India. The act underwent amendments in the subsequent years.
The Act lists 22 offences concerning various human behaviour or patterns towards this community by those does not belong to SC or ST. The offences include that deride social, economic and political rights, advance exploitation, discrimination and abuse. The Act initiates ‘Special Courts and Exclusive Special Courts’ for the purpose of trial concerning such offences. The major aim of the Atrocities Act is to deliver justice to marginalised communities through forward-looking measures, ensuring them a life of dignity, self-esteem and a life without fear, violence or discrimination from the upper castes.
Earlier, the offences under the Act its treated as cognizable and non-bailable in which no anticipatory bail can be allotted to the offender. But, on March 20, 2018, the Supreme Court extended concern over the misuse of Act and reversed automatic arrest of those booked under the law and introduced the provision of anticipatory bail.
Denoting no absolute bar on granting anticipatory bail, the Court states that prohibition to anticipatory bail under Section 18 of the SC/ST Act is not initiated unless a prima facie case under the Act is proposed against the accused. The apex Court also held that mere insult of a member of an SC/ST community was not an offence under the 1989 Act unless the accused has a intention to humiliate based on caste identity. “All insults or intimidations to a person will not be an offence under the Act unless such insult or intimidation is on account of victim belonging to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe,” a three-judge Bench led by Justice L. Nageswara Rao said in the Hitesh Verma vs State of Uttarakhand case.
As pert the data from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) more than 67,000 cases had been registered in 2022 under the SC/ST Act for crimes of atrocities against people belonging to SC and ST communities. This marks highest number of cases recorded under this Act 2013, the data reads. In December last year, the Union government told the Lok Sabha that “growing awareness, wider publicity, and capacity building of police personnel” were among the reasons for the increasing number of cases being registered under Atrocities Act.
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Who is Kris Gopalakrishnan
As mentioned, one of the co-founders of Infosys, he served as the CEO and Managing Director of the company from 2007 to 2011 and Vice Chairman from 2011 to 2014. Currently, he is the Chairman of Axilor Ventures, and has been associated with several other organisations such as Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Vision Group on Information Technology of Karnataka Government and CII Centre of Excellence in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Start-ups (CIES).
Gopalakrishnan is also a Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineers (INAE) and an Honorary Fellow of Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) of India. He holds postgraduate degrees in Physics and Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras.
In January 2011, the Government of India honoured Gopalakrishnan with the Padma Bhushan, the country’s third-highest civilian honor.
