SC Asks AG to Take Up Anti Race- and Language-Based Violence Provision With Centre

The Supreme Court asked the Attorney General to take up with the 'competent authority' a strong criminal-law mechanism against violence based on race, language or place of birth, while declining to frame such provisions itself.

The Wire Staff

sc asks ag to take up anti race and language based violence provision with centre

Dehradun: Members of students' organisations and locals participate in a candlelight march at Gandhi Park protesting the assault and death of Tripura student Angel Chakma in Dehradun on December 29, 2025. Photo: PTI.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked the Attorney General of India to take up with the "competent authority" the possibility of enacting a special provision in criminal laws to prevent "group-based" violence on grounds of race, place of birth or language. The court said preventing racially-motivated crimes needed attention, but declined to "legislate" specific provisions on the issue, the Times of India reports.

Advocate Anoop Prakash Awasth, who pleaded in person at the court on Wednesday (February 18), had filed a petition in the wake of the murder of Angel Chakma in Uttarakhand last December.

Chakma, from Tripura, was allegedly subjected to racial slurs and fatally attacked. Awasth argued that a grievance redressal mechanism, along the lines of the 'Vishaka guidelines' framed by the Supreme Court that led to the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Act, 2013, was needed for preventing identity-based discrimination. His petition related to such attacks against residents of the northeastern region, but sought nodal agencies in all states where any identity-based grievance could be raised.

The bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, and including Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi, which heard the writ petition, noted that Awasth's plea "raised vital questions for the creation of a stringent and robust mechanism" to address group (identity)-based violence.

According to a report in Live Law, CJI Kant noted during the hearing that a mechanism regarding identity-based discrimination could encourage further divisions based on regional identities.

Also read: Tripura Chakma Students Body Seeks Union Govt’s Intervention After Angel Chakma’s Killing

"The moment we start entertaining litigations where the victims are unfortunately targeted because of their region, the negative message which will be, people will start identifying he is Keralite, Tamilian, Kashmirian...we are not meant to...we have a strong federal structure, we are supposed to be stronger with unity and not to be identified with regions...if we give start identifying special treatment for them,it will again lead to a regressive thing. After 75 years of independence, should we think of..." CJI Surya Kant said, according to the Live Law report.

The petitioner urged that there should be some mechanism, at least in educational institutions, to prevent racially motivated attacks. "Somewhere, some grievance redressal mechanism should be there. It is very painful. I have so many friends from the North East. This exists. Nobody can deny it. This is a very big issue. If something happens, the bystander will just smile and go away while the fellow gets attacked," he submitted.

“As of now, we deem it appropriate that the aforesaid issues ought to be brought before the competent authority through the good offices of the learned AG,” the bench observed.

This article went live on February nineteenth, two thousand twenty six, at fifteen minutes past eight in the evening.

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