Fri Feb 21 19:13:18 UTC 2025: **Supreme Court Seeks Response on Caste Discrimination Against Dalit Catholic Christians in Tamil Nadu**
**Chennai, February 22, 2025** – The Supreme Court of India has sought a response from Tamil Nadu authorities regarding allegations of caste discrimination and atrocities against the Dalit Catholic Christian community in the Kottapalayam parish of Tiruchirappalli district.
A special leave petition filed by J. Doss Prakash, represented by advocates Thomas Franklin Caesar and S. Gowthaman, claims the community has faced “untouchability” and other discriminatory practices for over a century. The petition alleges that members of the community, comprising Dalit Christian Catholics from Parayar, Aruthathiyar, Pallar, and Vannan families, continue to be subjected to caste-based discrimination by the dominant caste community within the church. These practices, according to the petition, include the continued performance of traditionally marginalized work such as burials, menial agricultural labor, and footwear repair.
The petition states that the community has previously brought their grievances to the state government, the central government, and the Catholic Church. A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice P.S. Narasimha has issued a notice to the District Collector and other relevant authorities, seeking their response to the allegations.
First Piper 