Maharashtra will be the first state in the country to propose a law against the social boycott of individuals or families by caste panchayats. The State has witnessed a rise in the number of cases of social boycott, even violence, in the recent past. Caste panchayat heads have been reported to mete out extra-judicial punishment to those not adhering to their rules.
The Maharashtra Prohibition of Social Boycott Act — a draft of which was published on the state government’s website in November 2015, and which has just been approved by the state cabinet — will be presented in the Assembly’s budget session.
It terms any action of social boycott a crime, states that a trial should be completed within six months from the date of filing of a charge sheet , and has recommended three years of imprisonment or a fine of Rs 1 lakh, or both, for those found guilty.
Bailable offence
Offences punishable under the act shall be cognisable and bailable, and can be tried by a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class.
There is also provision for Social Boycott Prohibition Officers to detect the commission of offences under the act; these officers will assist magistrate and police officers in the discharge of their duties.
The act defines “Caste Panchayat” as a committee or a body formed by a group of persons belonging to any community (whether registered or not) which functions within the community to regulate and control personal and social behaviour of its members and collectively resolves or decides disputes, including within families, by issuing oral or written dictates.
‘Positive step’
A number of activists and academics have been demanding a legislation against such practices for a while now. Notably, murdered rationalist Narendra Dabholkar had picked up the issue before his death. Krushna Chandgude, one of the prominent anti-caste panchayat activists in Maharashtra, said, “It is a positive step from the government. We had suggested that these crimes should be made non-bailable.” he said.
Advocate Asim Sarode, who had submitted his own draft to formulate an act, said that the government’s step is encouraging to activists working in the field.
This will not be the first time that Maharashtra has taken the lead in formulating socially progressive legislation: the state was the first in the country to enact an anti-superstition law.
The State has witnessed a rise in the number of cases of social boycott, even violence
