Anjel Chakma Case: Supreme Court Disposes PIL on Curbing Racial Violence Against North-East Residents

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday disposed of a public interest litigation seeking guidelines to address identity-based and racial violence against people from the North-East, while requesting the Attorney General for India to examine the concerns raised.

The plea was filed in the backdrop of the alleged racially motivated killing of Tripura youth Anjel Chakma in Uttarakhand in December last year.

Advocate Anoop Prakash Awasth, who appeared in person, submitted that individuals from the North-Eastern states frequently face racial discrimination, verbal abuse and targeted attacks in various parts of the country.

He also urged the court to issue directions for the creation of nodal agencies in States to specifically deal with complaints of identity-based discrimination.

The matter was heard by a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi. The Chief Justice, however, expressed reservations about establishing mechanisms centred on regional identity, cautioning that such steps might unintentionally reinforce divisions.

Emphasising India’s federal structure, he observed that unity should be strengthened rather than fragmenting society along regional lines.

The court advised the petitioner to submit a representation before the appropriate authority. Awasth referred to a 2017 statement by then Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who had said there was no proposal to set up a nodal agency.

He also pointed out that the new criminal laws do not contain specific provisions addressing racially aggravated crimes.

In its order, the Bench noted that the PIL raised “vital questions” regarding the need for a robust legal mechanism to prevent group-based violence on grounds of race, place of birth or language, before closing the proceedings.

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