The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday, April 16, approved the draft of the Rohith Vemula Bill (Prevention of Discrimination, Exclusion or Injustice ) – a reform oriented and civil law designed to protect Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes from caste discrimination in higher education institutions. The Bill has proposed strict penalties including a Rs 10 lakh fine against those found guilty of harassment or caste-based discrimination.
The Bill seeks to ensure equal access to education and prohibit discrimination against SC/ST students across public, private, and deemed universities in Karnataka.
A key provision mandates the establishment of an equity committee in every institution to handle complaints of caste discrimination and harassment. These committees will be chaired by an SC/ST member not below the rank of assistant professor and include six other members, with at least two student representatives from SC/ST communities. Notably, at least 80% of the panel must belong to SC/ST groups.
The decision to approve the draft, which was taken late on Thursday evening, comes after months of uncertainty over the future of this landmark anti-caste legislation. With this move, the draft is now ready to be tabled in the legislature.
According to Minister Priyank Kharge, the government may also consider introducing the law through an ordinance in time for the start of the new academic session. “The next legislature session is likely in mid or end June but colleges reopen earlier. We wouldn’t want it to be pushed to the next academic year,” he told The News Minute.
The government held its first formal discussions with the civil society campaign for Rohith Act in December last year on the sidelines of the Belagavi assembly session. There was serious anticipation of the Bill being tabled in Belagavi considering the urgency with which the meeting was convened by Law Minister HK Patil. The draft prepared by the campaign was almost entirely accepted by the government.
However, the Congress leadership became wary after a nationwide backlash by rightwing groups against the UGC equity guidelines which were stayed by the apex court. The drafting team from the civil society campaign held several rounds of discussions with the government to stress on how the Rohith Act differs from the UGC guidelines and stands on firmer legal ground.
The campaign has maintained that legislation proposed in Karnataka traces its origins to the SC/ST Atrocities Act. It is imagined as a less stringent mechanism to address caste crimes that are not heinous in nature. The latest equity guidelines are based on the 2012 guidelines framed by the then UCC chief Sukhdeo Thorat. The UGC guidelines make a special mention of caste discrimination but are more expansive in their scope.