MP High Court takes suo motu cognizance over caste humiliation case

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the public humiliation incident that took place in Damoh’s Sataria village, where an Other Backward Class (OBC) man was forced to wash the feet of a Brahmin man and told to drink that water.

The court called it an act of “deep caste discrimination and a serious assault on human dignity.”

A division bench of Chief Justice Atul Shridharan and Justice Pradeep Mittal asked the Damoh police and district administration to take action under the National Security Act (NSA) against all individuals present in the viral video.

On October 10, a man named Purushottam Kushwaha was ordered to wash Anuj Pandey’s feet to apologise for sharing an “objectionable” AI-edited picture showing Pandey wearing a shoe garland. 

It prompted the village panchayat to then gather at a local temple to “teach him a lesson” by making him wash Pandey’s feet, drink the same water and seek forgiveness before the taunting crowd.

The video of the incident was widely shared on the internet, sparking outrage against the upper-class community for humiliating the man.

In the video, Kushwaha says, “I am apologising to the Brahmin community. Such a mistake will not happen again. We will keep worshipping the Brahmins.”

Later, the victim appeared in another video, stating that the incident was a “misunderstanding”, even claiming that “Anuj Pandey is my guru,” which the court noted he was saying under pressure.

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Man forced to wash Brahmin’s feet, drink the water in Madhya Pradesh

The High Court observed that the incident was a deliberate violation of basic human dignity and an act of caste-based discrimination.

The director general of police, the home secretary, the collector, and the superintendent of police (SP) in Damoh were all issued notices by the bench to ensure strict compliance. The SP, joining through video conferencing, assured the court that additional charges will be applied.

Following the incident, Pandey and three of his relatives were booked under Sections 296 (Obscene acts and songs), 196(1) (Promoting enmity between different groups), and 3(5) (Constructive liability) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which the bench noted was “inadequate”. It directed for Sections 351 (Use of force) and 133 (Public insult and humiliation) to be added promptly.

The court remarked that such incidents endanger the “very unity of Hindu society” due to which, the country will be left with no Hindu identity “in the next 150 years.”

“Incidents of caste violence are repeating in Madhya Pradesh. Earlier, a man from the general category urinated on a tribal and the Chief Minister washed the victim’s feet. Now every caste is parading its identity, threatening the very unity of Hindu society. If this continues, there will be no Hindu identity left in the next 150 years,” the bench observed.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for October 15, in which a status report is to be submitted.

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