Madras High Court: In a suo motu cognizance of the manufacture and sale of illicit arrack by the people in Kalvarayan hills, to protect the socio-economic status of the downtrodden Scheduled Caste (‘SC’) and Scheduled Tribes (‘ST’) people residing in various hamlets in Kalvarayan hills, the division bench of S.M. Subramaniam and C. Kumarappan, JJ. has initiated suo-motu writ petition against the Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu; Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Tribal Affairs; Principal Secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu, Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department; Director General of Police; District Collector; Superintendent of Police. Further, the Court directed the Registry to place the present suo motu writ petition before the Acting Chief Justice for passing appropriate orders.
The Court noted that in the wake of Kallakurichi hooch tragedy, there have been reports of illicit liquor manufactured in the nearby place of Kalvarayan hills. The area in and around Kalvarayan hills has many small villages and inhabited by people especially from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe community. The region is reported to be underdeveloped, lacking basic facilities and due to the economic backwardness and unemployment in the region, the people living in these areas are being forced to resort to manufacturing illicit liquor for their livelihood.
The Court noted that despite of the illicit liquor prohibition in Tamil Nadu, the Kallakurichi tragedy has taken place, which has led to loss of lives and the people most affected are from the vulnerable sections of the society thereby warranting immediate action.
The Court said that the area in the Kallakurichi and Salem Districts needs immediate social and economic attention. Further, after noting the history of the region, the Court said that the present condition deserves the immediate attention and measures to ensure that people of that regions are able to access the basic facilities and welfare schemes, and the Government should take all steps to bolster the economic situation in the region to prevent further such crimes.
The Court reiterated that Article of the includes a wide array of rights including right to economic empowerment of the poor, disadvantaged and oppressed, right to Health, right to livelihood, right to live with human dignity, right to social and economic Justice etc.
The Court said that the economic underdevelopment faced by the people in Kalvarayan hills must not give space for miscreants to exploit their sufferings by pushing them into illicit liquor business. This is an issue that needs to be dealt with at the earliest and all comprehensive measures for the economic and social upliftment of the people in this region is a Constitutional priority. It is important to ensure that the Constitutional mandates, directives, principles and views are not only honoured, but implemented in its letter and spirit.
Thus, the Court directed the Registry to place the present suo motu writ petition before the Acting Chief Justice for passing appropriate orders.
[In re, Kallakurichi hooch tragedy, Suo Motu W.P. No. of 2024, decided on 01.07.2024]
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