Supreme Court upholds Bombay HC order on compensation for Dalit researchers

Dalit researchers Kshipra Uke and Shiv Shankar Das alleged that their research was stolen and destroyed, while the commission failed to compensate them
Dalit researchers compensated
Dalit researchers compensated(Representative Image)
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The Supreme Court has upheld a 2023 ruling by the Bombay High Court (HC), which directed the Nagpur collector to assess the extent of the damage suffered by Dalit researchers Kshipra Uke and Shiv Shankar Das due to the loss of their research data, stated a report by the Hindustan Times.

In a significant victory, the researchers have been awarded a compensation of Rs 127 crore, marking India’s first intellectual property case under the Caste Atrocities Act. 

According to the report, Kshipra Uke and Shiv Shankar Das, both members of the Scheduled Castes community and PhD holders from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, had approached the Bombay High Court seeking compensation for the loss of their research data. 

They alleged that the National Commission for Scheduled Castes had failed to compensate them after their research data was stolen and destroyed.

Loss of research data
Uke and Das were conducting a research project on the socio-political awareness of students in Nagpur. They had collected up to 500 survey samples when the data was allegedly stolen. 

The couple claimed that while they were away from the city, the son of their landlord, who belonged to a different caste, in collusion with the Bajajnagar police, broke into their residence, stole their laptop, and took the raw research data.

A long struggle
Hindustan Times reported that despite filing a complaint with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, the researchers reported that no action was taken. Consequently, they had to file a writ petition seeking directions for an inquiry. 

The commission eventually began an inquiry under court orders and awarded compensation to the researchers for the damage to their intellectual property, as per the Atrocities Act. A special investigation committee, headed by a joint commissioner of police, was also set up to take action on the matter.

Supreme Court's verdict
The Supreme Court's verdict upheld the Bombay High Court’s direction for the Nagpur district collector to assess the compensation for the loss suffered by the researchers. 

The bench, comprising Justice Vinay Joshi and Justice Valmiki Sa Menezes, concluded that intellectual property, which may have been subject to a crime and atrocities committed against Dalits, could be considered property to grant compensation under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

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