Key Points
Village head ostracises families after legal dispute
NHRC seeks detailed report within two weeks
30 people arrested during protest
Local authorities failed to resolve conflict
The NHRC took suo motu cognisance of a media report that said that a village head ostracised all members of a family which dragged him to court over encroachment in Sambavarvadakarai town.
Seven other families were also ostracised when they supported the litigant family. Reportedly, the police arrested 30 people of 8 families when they protested in front of the office of the District Collector against their ostracism.
According to the media report, carried on February 20, 2025, the victim families were barred from accessing local stores, other facilities, and communicating with other residents.
The Commission observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raised a serious issue of violation of human rights of the victim families.
The NHRC has now issued notice to the District Collector, Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, calling for a detailed report within two weeks, said the official.
Reportedly, the Revenue Divisional Officer, instead of acting, organised a peace talk with the village head to revoke his instructions but to no avail.
Earlier last month, the NHRC questioned officials of West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district and police over the death of two persons after inhaling toxic gas while cleaning a septic tank.
Taking suo motu cognizance of a media report published on February 16, the NHRC said that the contents of the media report, if true, raised a serious issue of violation of the human rights of the victims.
In a separate development last month, the Commission sought detailed reports from the West Bengal and Odisha governments over issues pertaining to curbing incidents of acid attacks in their respective states.
The Commission asked the Chief Secretaries of both the states to submit their reports. The NHRC issued the order while hearing a petition filed by human rights activist and advocate Radhakanta Tripathy.
