DEHRADUN: A resident of Haridwar recently approached the Haridwar district court with a complaint accusing top officials, including the chief minister, chief secretary, and principal secretary (home), of neglecting the Central government's directive to establish
special SC/ST courts
in every district of the state. The district and session judge of Haridwar on Friday directed the principal secretary (home) to expedite an investigation and submit a report within a month.
The petitioner,
Meenu
(23), from Haridwar, belongs to the SC community and has previously contested for the village head election.
She highlighted in her application that in Haridwar,
SC/ST Act
cases are handled by the already burdened district judge, leading to a continuous rise in pending cases.
Meenu's lawyer Raj Kumar explained that the SC ST (Amendment) Act mandates the creation of special SC/ST courts in every district for prompt resolution of cases. He said, "Except Uttarakhand, special SC/ST Act courts are operational in every state. It's the chief minister and the state government's duty to ensure these courts are formed in all districts."
Meanwhile, SPO Dharmesh Kumar argued that unlike larger states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand records fewer SC/ST Act cases. "Most cases come from three districts - Dehradun, Haridwar, and US Nagar. Even in these, only around 50 cases each are pending. Since the district judge handles SC/ST Act cases, separate courts are not necessary, saving money and resources," Kumar added.
English (US) ·