Back in 2013, a dominant caste man allegedly trapped and then sexually assaulted a Dalit woman. The atrocities did not end there. When the woman put forth a marriage proposal, the man allegedly tried to kill her after attempting to impregnate her. After years of waiting and months of hearings, it was in April 2021 that the Nalgonda district court directed the accused's family to pay the woman Rs 8,000 a month as financial assistance. This was possible only because 27-year-old lawyer Singapogu Subbarao decided to take up the case. He offered free legal service and is still at it, now fighting for the woman's son so that he can get what is rightfully his. This is one of the many cases that the lawyer has taken up to ensure that justice is not denied to them, under any circumstances.
Subbarao and Co have looked into 150 such cases, where caste discrimination manifests in the most brutal ways, and they have won 30 of them, their most recent victory being the one described above. It is because his own family, particularly his grandfather Dola Muthaiah from the Scheduled Caste community who was jailed and then killed in jail for an alleged theft, that Subbarao's bleeding heart has been striving to work for legal justice for the oppressed castes. This feeling, which he has nurtured since Class IV, propelled him to conduct awareness workshops in remote areas of Telangana as a law student of Osmania University. "As a student (2016-18), I wasn't able to argue cases in court, so I wanted to at least create awareness about the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and more," says Subbarao.
Till date, the young lawyer has conducted several awareness camps across most districts of Telangana. About 100 to 250 people attend these camps each time when Subbarao speaks about law and caste discrimination. "I start with the Preamble of the Constitution and go on to explain our rights and convey information about previous cases. I also talk about Dr BR Ambedkar and explain to them the importance of studying law," says the lawyer who knows Kuchipudi and has even taught it to inmates at juvenile homes.
Currently, Subbarao, who has the support of fellow lawyers N Yadeeshwar and Govardhan since last year, is offering free legal aid to those from lower castes and financially distressed (income below 2 lakh per annum) and he manages this by taking on cases where clients can afford to pay. He doesn't accept donations and directs donors to arrange law books, transportation and food instead, so that he won't be seen in the wrong. Fighting these cases is akin to fighting against all odds. On one hand, in many cases, the victims are unable to substantiate their claims and, on the other hand, the defence lawyer uses every trick in the book. "Perhaps, increasing the number of benches could help with the several pending cases in Indian courts," he mulls.
And don't be mistaken, these pro bono cases can be hard on Subbarao sometimes. "Many from marginalised communities are cheated by educated upper caste people. In one of the cases, the opposite party was ready to pay around Rs 1 crore and threatened me to back off from the case," he says. And what was it exactly that stopped him, you ask? "I don't want to sell my self-respect to them," he shares. And that's how he fights for the self-respect of others. "As far as possible, within my limits, I want to help deliver justice to the marginalised communities. And I want to ensure my kids become IAS officers or judges," says Subbarao and signs off.
