33 Convicted by Delhi High Court in Mirchpur Dalit Murder Case

The bench was hearing the case of the killing of a 70-year-old and his 18-year-old physically challenged daughter.

(Photo: IANS)

The Delhi High Court on Friday, 24 August, held 33 people guilty in the 2010 murders of Dalits in Haryana's Hisar district. The bench was hearing the case of the killing of a 70-year-old man and his 18-year-old physically challenged daughter in an arson attack.

The judgment said that after 71 years of independence, instances of atrocities against Scheduled Castes by those belonging to dominant castes have shown no sign of abating.

The incidents that took place in Mirchpur between 19 to 21 April in 2010 serve as yet another grim reminder of the complete absence of two things in Indian society as noted by Dr BR Ambedkar when he tabled the final draft of the Constitution of India before the Constituent Assembly on 25 November 1949.

Justice Muralidhar and Justice IS Mehta

"One was equality and the other, fraternity," the bench added and made strong remarks against the "planned attack" made by the Jat community against the Valmikis during the incident that led to the displacement of 254 Dalit families from Mirchpur village.

‘Dalits Still Living in Fear’

The unstated footnote is that those who had decided to stay back at Mirchpur village did not support the prosecution in the present criminal trial, while those who decided not to return are the ones who did.

Justice Muralidhar and Justice IS Mehta

"This in itself is a telling commentary on the fear and intimidation that the Dalits still experience in Mirchpur as a result of the incidents of April 19, 20 and 21 in 2010,” the court added.

The bench also noted that the Government of Haryana has sought to rehabilitate the displaced families not in Mirchpur but in a separate township. The bench termed it as a “sobering fact.”

"The question is whether this accords with the constitutional promise of equality, social justice and fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual," the court said in the 209 page order.

The court upheld conviction of 13 people who were held guilty in a trial court. It also convicted 20 more accused which were previously acquitted by the trial court.

The court directed 20 more convicts to surrender on or before 1 September, 2018 failing which the Station House Officer of Narnaund, Haryana was asked to initiate necessary steps to take them into custody.

What happened in Mirchpur in 2010?

70-year-old Tarachand and his 18-year-old physically challenged daughter Suman, were killed in an arson attack in April 2010 in their house and a row of other Dalit houses in Mirchpur, about 300 km from Chandigarh.

A total of 15 accused, belonging to the Jat community, were tried and held guilty in the case by the trial court. Two of them died during the pendency of the appeal. A total of 97 accused were facing trial in the case.

The attack followed a dispute between members of the Jat and Dalit communities of the village.