Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court said that the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules give Deputy Commissioners the power to appoint eminent senior advocates to represent downtrodden people and prosecute cases against upper caste people in courts.

M. C. Cheriyan and three other people from Chikkamagaluru filed a petition, which Justice K. Natarajan dismissed. They questioned the Deputy Commissioner’s appointment of an advocate as special prosecutor in April 2021.

According to the court, the appointment of an advocate at the request of the victim is against the SC/ST Act and Rules.

The court also said that it is clear that the State wants to protect the rights of SC/ST category members from harassment and atrocities, not that the government is burdened by paying more on advocate fees.