Supreme Court seeks Tripura reply on Jamatia law rape-fine clause

The Supreme Court on Monday, October 26, sought responses from the Tripura government and the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) on a public interest litigation challenging part of a 2017 customary law of the Jamatia community.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana issued notice on the petition filed by Madhumita Bhattacharya and tagged it with a pending matter.

What the petition challenges

The PIL questions the constitutional validity of Section 143 of the Jamatia Customary Law Act, 2017, which deals with financial penalties for the enticement and rape of a woman. The petition alleges that the provision allows accused persons in rape-related cases to settle the matter by paying a fine of up to ₹1 lakh through the customary adjudication system.

The petitioner, represented by advocate Shoumendu Mukherji, has asked the court to declare the provision ultra vires the Constitution. She has also asked that records relating to the enactment of the 2017 law be produced before the court.

How the customary system works

Under the law, disputes are decided by the Okras, traditional Jamatia community leaders and adjudicators. A party aggrieved by an Okra's decision can approach the appropriate formal forum.

The 2017 law was passed by the TTAADC under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to codify the customs and dispute-resolution practices of the Jamatia community, one of Tripura's indigenous tribes.

The wider question

The case raises a question that recurs in the North East: how traditional laws protected under the Sixth Schedule fit with criminal law and constitutional guarantees that apply across the country. Rape is a serious offence under national criminal law, which provides for trial in regular courts.

The state government and the TTAADC will now have to file their responses. The court has not commented on the merits of the challenge, and no date for the next hearing was reported.