Tenkasi shopkeeper gets bail in caste discrimination case

CHENNAI: The Madurai branch of the Madras High Court has granted bail to a shopkeeper from Panchakulam village in Tenkasi, who was arrested for refusing to sell snacks to school children from a Scheduled Caste. The shopkeeper S Mahewswaran was among three persons arrested in the case and who had filed a petition seeking bail. The case came up for hearing on October 31 in the presence of Judge Ilangovan.

The judge on Monday granted conditional bail to Maheswaran and dismissed an appeal to grant bail to K Ramachandran and his mother Sudha on the ground that this was not the first such allegation against the duo and they already have a similar case pending against them. According to the prosecutor, a video went on social media in which a shopkeeper was seen refusing to give snacks to some school students by citing a resolution passed in the village not to sell any product to SC community members.

Based on this video, Karivalamvanthanallur police registered a case on September 16 and arrested Maheswaran, Ramachandran, and Sudha.