Madurai: Madras high court on Friday directed the Sivaganga district collector to appear before the court while hearing a plea moved by the wife of a man who sustained injuries during a caste violence incident in Kachanatham village in Sivaganga district in 2018.
Justice Battu Devanand summoned the collector to appear before the court and adjourned the hearing to April 21.
On May 28, 2018, three men belonging to the scheduled caste community – K Arumugam, A Shanmuganathan, and V Chandrasekaran were killed, and several others sustained injuries as they were assaulted by people belonging to another community in a dispute over a temple festival at Kachanatham village.
The court was hearing the petition filed by D Sridevi, wife of Dhanasekaran, belonging to the scheduled caste community, who sustained severe injuries in the incident. The petitioner stated that her husband died due to health complications in 2020. She added that her eldest son also sustained injuries in the attack and is living with a disability, which is assessed at around 40%.
Sridevi stated that the special court for exclusive trial of cases under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in Sivaganga convicted and sentenced 27 accused in the case to undergo life imprisonment. The family was given compensation of 5.25 lakh, which was not sufficient for her son’s treatment.
She stated that she had two sons and a daughter. Her younger son completed ITI training and was involved in agricultural work. Since her husband, who was the sole breadwinner of the family, died, their livelihood is affected.
Sridevi submitted a representation seeking employment for the younger son. Since the same was not considered, she filed a petition before the HC in 2023. The court directed the authorities to consider and pass orders on her representation. However, the collector rejected her representation. Challenging it, the petitioner filed the present petition seeking employment for her son by considering his educational qualification, as per the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
