Though I could find the below link only regarding the same issue ... I heard some news about the same last week in which court have said that its not offensive to use such jati-suchak words. If somebody knows about the same please share ....
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...hable_says_apex_court/articleshow/3382559.cms
NEW DELHI:
The Supreme Court has said that addressing Scheduled Castes people as ‘chamar’ may amount to an offence punishable under the provision of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
A bench comprising Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice Markandey Katju said, “When we interpret Section 3(1)(x) of the act we have to see the purpose for which the act was enacted. It was obviously made to prevent indignities, humiliation and harassment to the members of SC/STs, as is evident from the Statement of Objects & Reasons of the act. Hence, while interpreting Section 3(1)(x) of the act,
we have to take into account the popular meaning of the word ‘chamar’ which it has acquired by usage, and not the etymological meaning. If we go by the etymological meaning, we may frustrate the very object of the act, and hence that would not be a correct manner of interpretation”.
“In our opinion, calling a member of the Scheduled Caste `chamar’ with intent to insult or humiliate him in a place within public view is certainly an offence under Section 3(1)(x) of the act,” court said.
The court, however, said that whether there was intent to insult or humiliate by using the word `chamar’ will of course depend on the context in which it was used.
Justice Katju writing the judgment for the bench said, today the word ‘chamar’ is often used by people belonging to the so-called upper castes or even by OBCs as a word of insult, abuse and derision.
Calling a person `chamar’ is nowadays abusive and is highly offensive. In fact, the word `chamar’ when used today is not normally used to denote a caste but to intentionally insult and humiliate someone.
“Hence, in our opinion, the so-called upper castes and OBCs should not use the word ‘chamar’ when addressing a member of the SC, even if that person in fact belongs to the `chamar’ caste, because use of such a word will hurt his feelings,” court observed.
The court further said, “In our opinion, even if the word `chamar’ was not regarded offensive at one time in our country, today it is certainly a highly offensive word when used in a derogatory sense to insult and humiliate a person. Hence, it should never be used with that intent. The use of the word `chamar’ will certainly attract Section 3(1)(x) of the act, if from the context it appears that it was used in a derogatory sense to insult or humiliate a member of the SC/ST”.
The court went on to say that in the age of democracy and equality, no people or community should be insulted or looked down upon, and nobody’s feelings should be hurt. This is also the spirit of our Constitution and is part of its basic features.
The court also expressed concern over evils of the caste system. “The caste system is a curse on our nation and the sooner it is destroyed the better. In fact, it is dividing our country at a time when we must all be united as Indians if we wish to face the gigantic problems confronting us,” court noted.
The bench gave a green signal to proceed against a woman and her daughter who were accused of humiliating a driver belonging to the Scheduled Caste by calling him ‘chamar’ in public. A chargesheet was filed against them in accordance with a FIR registered against them in the police station of posh CR Park area in the Capital.
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