Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, said that instead of enacting a new legislation to prevent killings in connection with inter-caste marriages, it would be better to speed up legal processes and bring culprits to book under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Penal Code.
Responding to a calling attention motion in the Legislative Assembly on the attack on the office of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Tirunelveli for arranging an inter-caste marriage, the Chief Minister announced the appointment of special public prosecutors to expedite cases related to crimes triggered by inter-caste marriages.
“As per the CrPC, a sub-inspector is to be the investigation officer in these cases. To accord importance to these cases however, the government will seek legal opinions and appoint Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) as investigation officers,” Mr Stalin said.
In the Tirunelveli incident, he said, a total of 14 persons including seven women were arrested and the women were released on bail. “There is prima facie evidence of a caste atrocity. Hence, the SC/ST Act has also been included in the case,” Mr Stalin said.
