The Kerala High Court has registered a suo motu case in the instance of the tribal man Madhu, who was beaten to death by a mob at Attapadi, as per a report by Mahir Haneef in The Times of India.
This action came after Justice K Surendra Mohan who is in charge of Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KELSA) sent a letter to the Chief Justice seeking the court’s intervention in the matter.
Justice Mohan said, “The incident is a blot on our society and our state as a whole and we are all forced to hang our heads in shame, that such an incident has taken place in our state that boasts of 100 per cent literacy.”
Considering the gravity of the issue, Chief Justice Antony Dominic ordered to initiate suo motu case, while deciding to take up the matter as a public interest litigation.
The letter said that a number of welfare measures are being implemented in tribal areas through different government agencies.
Other charitable organisations are also involved in conducing poverty alleviation programmes.
The letter further stated that if Madhu was forced to steal food despite such initiatives being in place, it shows that the government measures are not effective.
Necessary changes should be made in the welfare schemes for the tribals till the benefits reach them, the judge said in his letter.
Calling the incident an eye-opener, the letter said there needs to be an immediate revamp of the implementation procedures for tribal welfare schemes.
What makes the issue even more grave is that the person who was lynched to death was mentally unstable, the judge said.
The letter also called for better enforcement of the law to prevent atrocities against the tribal people.
On the evening of February 22, 30-year-old Madhu, a tribal man from Attappadi, was severely beaten up by the mob that accused him of having robbed food items including rice.
Although the mob later called the local police, Madhu vomited and fell unconscious while he was being taken to the police station. He was declared brought dead by the doctors.
So far, 16 people who are all local residents, have been arrested in the case.