Notice to Centre on PIL to stop racial discrimination

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre and all states on a public interest litigation(PIL) seeking a direction to them to frame guideline to protect the people from North-eastern states against alleged racial discrimination.

A bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi sought response from the authorities within four weeks on the issue.

The apex court initially expressed reluctance to entertain the plea on the ground that the Delhi High Court is hearing a similar petition but it agreed to examine the issue after the petitioners pleaded that racial discrimination is prevalent across the country and the matter can be addressed by the highest court.

The petition filed by seven advocates, some of them belonging to the North-east, highlighted the recent attacks on North-eastern people, including the death of Arunachal Pradesh youth Nido Taniam who was beaten by shopkeepers in south Delhi.

They submitted that there was no system in place by the Ministry of Home Affairs to protect these people who were subjected to racial taunts and violence on a daily basis due to their physical appearance when they migrated to other states for job and education.