Centre for Law & Policy Research (CLPR) is organising a lawyers’ learning session with academics, practitioners and judges on ‘Tackling Caste Discrimination Through Law’ at the High Court of Karnataka on November 30.

It is commonly acknowledged that caste-based discrimination continues to plague Indian society despite various constitutional and statutory protections. While attempts have been made to confront caste-based discrimination through laws like the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, caste-based discrimination occurs rampantly in almost all strata of society.

CLPR has recognised that even after enactment of laws to combat caste-based discrimination, shoddy investigative and prosecutorial practices and high pendency in courts are among the chief causes for the poor implementation of these legislations. As a result, conviction rates for caste atrocity offences are low and justice for the victims of atrocities are often delayed or denied.

Therefore, the objective behind this workshop is to increase engagement of lawyers with the laws relating to caste discrimination in India and to build an organised lawyers network which can improve access to justice for vulnerable groups. The network will facilitate sharing of information such as drafts, case updates, and precedents as well as encourage the coordination of larger litigation efforts for the effective implementation of these laws.

A strong network of interested and motivated lawyers can make a substantial difference to the manner in which caste discrimination laws are employed to prosecute offenders and obtain justice for victims and their families.

The session is open and there is no registration fee.

The details of the event may be accessed here.

For any questions or to RSVP for the session, reach out to Jayalakshmi (+91-7993990601) or Deekshitha Ganesan (+91-9930756599).