Recent Tamil Nadu Poll Results Show Voters Can Reject Caste Politics: Madras High Court

Observing that some political parties continue to "add fuel" to casteism by mobilising voters on caste lines, the Madras High Court has said the recent Tamil Nadu Assembly election results demonstrate that people can be persuaded to vote without considering the caste or community of candidates.

The observations came from the bench of Justice B Pugalendhi while deciding a bail plea filed by a police Sub-Inspector accused of helping his son after the alleged honour killing of an engineering graduate in Tirunelveli district.

"The recent assembly election results in the state of Tamil Nadu have shown that people can indeed be convinced to vote without considering the caste or community of the contestants. In fact, a government has been formed by largely nullifying the factors of caste," court said.

The judge added that the State could claim "true change" only when the mindset of people also changes and directed the government to take responsibility and initiative to eradicate caste from people's minds.

Why did the court make the observations on casteism?

The remarks came while the court was dealing with allegations arising out of the murder of Kavin, an engineering graduate who was allegedly in a relationship with the daughter of the appellant, Saravanan, a Sub-Inspector of Police.

According to the prosecution, Saravanan's son murdered Kavin on July 27, 2025. The prosecution case is that the crime was an instance of honour killing motivated by opposition to the relationship. Saravanan was subsequently arrested on allegations that he helped his son destroy evidence and evade arrest after the murder.

While considering the bail plea, Justice Pugalendhi devoted a substantial portion of the judgment to discussing caste-based discrimination and honour killings.

Court observed that honour killing is the "extreme reflection of casteism" and referred to the Supreme Court's observation in Lata Singh v State of Uttar Pradesh (2006) that casteism is a curse on the nation.

"There is truly no honour in honour killings"

Court noted that honour killings continue to be reported despite the existence of stringent laws, including the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Referring to reports of 59 honour killings in Tamil Nadu over the last decade, the judge said casteism had become deeply rooted in society and was affecting every sphere of public life.

"The appellant or his family alone cannot be blamed for the same when casteism is prevalent in the mind of every person," the court said, adding that even judges were not spared from caste-based perceptions and that motives were often attributed to judicial orders on the basis of caste despite cases being decided on merit.

Court further remarked that prominent leaders such as K Kamaraj, Muthuramalinga Thevar and V O Chidambaram were increasingly projected through communal or caste lenses.

In a strongly worded passage, Justice Pugalendhi observed that nature itself does not recognise caste and that society must transcend artificial barriers. "There is truly no honour in honour killings and it is a shameful act," the court said.

What did the court say about the State's role?

The high court said legislative measures alone had not produced the desired social transformation and called for reforms beginning at the school level.

Referring to the recommendations made by the Justice K Chandru Committee constituted after incidents of caste-based violence among school students, court observed that the recommendations did not appear to have been implemented in full.

The judge also criticised political mobilisation based on caste, observing that some political parties were contributing to the problem by using caste identities for electoral gains.

Why was bail granted?

Turning to the facts of the case, court noted that Saravanan had been in custody since August 11, 2025 and that the investigation had already been completed.

Court recorded that there were no calls between Saravanan and his son before the occurrence and no calls between him and the deceased on the day of the incident. It found the available materials insufficient at this stage to presume that he had played any active role in the murder itself.

Justice Pugalendhi nevertheless observed that Saravanan must take responsibility for having raised his son with casteist attitudes.

Holding that continued incarceration would amount to pre-trial imprisonment, court granted bail to Saravanan subject to stringent conditions, including residence in Coimbatore and mandatory reporting before a local police station twice every day. The court also set aside the trial court's order refusing bail.

Case Title: Saravanan v. State of Tamil Nadu represented by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, CBCID, Tirunelveli District & Anr.

Order Date: June 11, 2026

Bench: Justice B. Pugalendhi