Medieval justice: Kangaroo courts call the shots in TN
Padmini Sivarajah, TNN, Jun 16, 2010, 03.16am IST
MADURAI: In several hamlets in the caste sensitive pockets of south
Tamil Nadu, the law of the land has ceased to exist. Here, it is the
'kattapanchayat' or kangaroo courts that rule. A few months ago,
Nagaraj, a dalit from Vedasandur in Dindigul district, married a
non-dalit girl, Sumathi. Fear of reprisal prompted them to flee the
village.
They returned a month later hoping that their parents would accept
them. But a 'kattapanchayat' was immediately convened. Following its
orders, the couple was taken to a coconut grove. A goat was
slaughtered, its blood smeared on the couple's heads and their
marriage declared null and void. The girl was later given away in
marriage to a man from her caste.
In another incident, a non-dalit girl Sangeetha eloped with a dalit
youth, Balachandar of Malapatti village in Dindigul. They were brought
back to the village and a few days later the girl died under
mysterious circumstances.
"Kangaroo courts are the most powerful bodies that deliver judgment on
any dispute or problem. They are still prevalent in many hamlets in
the southern districts. Of the 167 villages we surveyed in south Tamil
Nadu, we found the 'kattapanchayat' active in all of them. They take
law into their hands and deliver judgment," said Kathir, who heads
'Evidence'. The organisation conducted the study in Theni,
Virudhunagar, Dindigul and Sivaganga districts.
The Evidence study revealed that among 167 villages surveyed, 73 had
common courts for all castes, while 14 had separate 'courts' for
dalits and non-dalits. Fifty-nine of these villages had separate
courts for every caste in the village. These are headed by the
community heads called "nattamai or panchayathar".
161 of the kangaroo courts delivered caste-based verdicts. The
punishment included begging for pardon in the village square or being
ostracized. In some villages, the accused were asked to hold burning
camphor in his palm, or go around the village temple a prescribed
number of times or sometimes, beaten or tied to the tree as
punishment. The fines ranged from Rs 10 to Rs 10,000 based on the
nature of the crime and place.
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