SC declines PIL on racially motivated violence, directs plea to Attorney General in Anjel Chakma case

The Supreme Court has disposed of a public interest litigation seeking separate legal recognition of racially motivated violence in India’s criminal jurisprudence in the backdrop of the alleged racially charged murder of a 24-year-old student from Tripura in Dehradun.

The plea, filed by Advocate Anoop Kumar Awasthi, urged the Court to issue binding guidelines to address racially motivated violent attacks, citing the tragic killing of Anjel Chakma as a case in point. 

The petition sought judicial intervention to frame mechanisms for identifying and prosecuting racially aggravated crimes distinctly under Indian criminal law.

A Bench of the apex court, however, declined to entertain the matter at this stage and directed the petitioner to submit a representation before the office of the Attorney General of India (AGI). 

“We dispose of the petition, with liberty to petitioner to hand over a soft copy of the writ petition in the AGI office, also along with copy of this order to enable AGI to take up the matter before the appropriate authority. You first do that. Let us see,” the Court observed.

With this direction, the Court closed the proceedings, leaving it open for the petitioner to pursue the issue administratively through the Union government’s top law officer.