New Delhi, February 18 Identifying individuals based on race, region, gender, and caste would be a step backward, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday while rejecting a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to prevent discrimination and violence against citizens from the northeastern region and other areas.
“A crime is a crime, and it must be dealt with firmly,” said a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi. It directed Attorney General R Venkataramani to consider and refer the petition to an appropriate authority.
“Identifying individuals based on race, region, gender, and caste would be a step backward after so many years of independence,” the bench said.
At the outset, petitioner Anoop Prakash Awasthi, a lawyer based in Delhi, said the matter was raised in Parliament, but lawmakers declined to establish any such agency to deal with hate crimes.
The PIL was filed on December 28 last year in the wake of the brutal killing of Anjel Chakma, a 24-year-old MBA student from Tripura. Chakma died on December 26, 2025, due to grievous injuries sustained in a racially motivated attack in the Selaqui area of Dehradun.
The lawyer said that no one came forward to save Chakma.
The Supreme Court refused to entertain the PIL and said, “For now, we believe that this issue should be brought before the competent authority.”
“This writ petition is disposed of, with the liberty to the petitioner to submit a copy of the petition to the office of the Attorney General, along with a copy of this order,” the bench said, adding that the top law officer would take the necessary steps.
The PIL seeks judicial intervention to address the “continuing constitutional failure” to prevent and respond to racial discrimination and violence against citizens from northeastern states and other frontier regions.
Chakma had gone to Dehradun after completing his graduation at Holy Cross School, Agartala, to pursue an MBA. He was stabbed to death in the presence of his younger brother, Michael.
His family members want the accused to be sentenced to capital punishment or at least life imprisonment. The plea made the Centre and all the states and Union territories parties.