Madras High Court directs Erode court to consider bail pleas of nine in SC/ST Act case

The Madras High Court has directed a special court in Erode to consider the bail applications of nine persons, preferably on the day of their surrender, in connection with a case arising from an alleged caste-related dispute over a burial at Perumbali village near Perundurai in Erode district.

Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan passed the order on a Criminal Original Petition filed by the nine persons under Section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. They sought a direction to the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Special Court for Exclusive Trial of Cases under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Amendment Act, Erode, to consider their bail applications on the day of surrender in Crime No. 89 of 2026. The petitioners were directed to surrender before the competent jurisdictional court within 15 days of receiving a copy of the order.

The case relates to an incident on October 5, when members of the SC community allegedly faced opposition from members of a Most Backward Class (MBC) community over the burial of Chenni, a 90-year-old man, in a common cemetery at Perumbali village in Madathupalayam panchayat. During the ensuing dispute, two members of the SC community reportedly fell at the feet of members of the other community. The burial was conducted under police and Revenue Department protection.

Thingalur police initially booked two persons in connection with the incident. During the course of the investigation, seven more persons were included in the case, taking the total number of accused to nine. The Tamil Nadu State Commission for Adi Dravidar and Tribal Communities has directed the Erode Collector and the Superintendent of Police to submit a detailed report on the alleged caste discrimination by October 30, 2026.

Nine persons have now approached the High Court seeking a direction to the special court to consider their bail applications. The High Court directed the special court to decide the bail applications in accordance with law after providing the victim an opportunity of hearing, as required under Section 15A of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. It also said the gravity of the offences and the petitioners’ previous antecedents should be considered while deciding the pleas. The court in its order on October 14 clarified that its direction to consider the bail applications preferably on the day of surrender did not mean that bail should necessarily be granted.