IIT Bombay Caste Abuse Case and Delhi Voter‑Roll Woes: Structural Inequality in Focus

The Mumbai police on 19 September 2026 booked IIT Bombay professor Suryanarayan Dulla under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after a 22‑year‑old student, Sahil Wakode, was found dead in his hostel. A day later, Delhi’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearings saw daily‑wage earner Sanichari Devi collapse after officials demanded additional documents, highlighting how procedural rigidity deepens exclusion for the marginalised.

Legal Framework Against Caste Discrimination

India’s Constitution explicitly bans caste‑based oppression. Article 17 (Constitution of India) abolishes untouchability, while Article 15(4) permits affirmative action for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act criminalises caste‑based insults, threats and harassment, prescribing penalties for both individuals and institutions.

• ▸19 Sept 2026: FIR lodged by Chakradhar Wakode alleging caste abuse by Dulla.
• ▸Dulla charged under multiple sections of the Atrocities Act and for abetment to suicide.
• ▸Article 17 provides the constitutional ceiling against such discrimination, enabling criminal prosecution.

In the IIT case, the Act’s provisions are being invoked to hold an academic authority accountable, signalling that constitutional guarantees extend into elite educational spaces traditionally viewed as insulated from caste bias.

Data on Caste‑Based Violence and Suicide

National surveys reveal the stark human cost of caste oppression. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) and the National Sample Survey (NSS) consistently show higher rates of mental distress and suicide among SC/ST youth compared with the general population. While exact figures for 2026 are pending, past NFHS rounds recorded suicide rates among SC youth nearly double the national average.

• ▸Sahil Wakode, a second‑year BTech Energy Science student, died after being caught using a mobile phone during an exam.
• ▸The FIR alleges three months of caste‑based harassment preceding the suicide.
• ▸Delhi’s draft electoral roll (June 16 2026) listed 1.45 crore voters; 47.6 lakh were marked “Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate” (ASDD).

These numbers illustrate how systemic bias translates into loss of life and civic disenfranchisement, reinforcing the need for robust data‑driven interventions.

Institutional Failures: Campus and Electoral Administration

Both incidents expose gaps in institutional accountability. IIT Bombay’s initial statement expressed condolences but framed the death as a personal tragedy linked to a ChatGPT‑related exam breach, sidestepping the alleged caste abuse. Similarly, the Election Commission’s SIR process, intended to rectify roll anomalies, imposes onerous documentation demands that daily‑wage workers cannot readily meet.

• ▸Sanichari Devi arrived with Aadhaar, PAN, Voter ID and ration card, yet officials asked for a bank passbook and a photocopy of documents.
• ▸Each hearing centre handles roughly 500 cases daily, with families carrying decades‑long document archives.
• ▸The final Delhi roll is slated for publication on 4 November 2026 after a 29 Oct deadline for notice‑respondents.

These procedural bottlenecks allow discrimination to persist, as victims lack the resources to navigate complex bureaucratic mazes.

Ground Realities: Voices of the Marginalised

For Sanichari Devi, a 63‑year‑old daily‑wage earner, the documentation chase meant losing ₹400‑₹500 of a day’s income and nearly collapsing from exhaustion. Ram Chandar, a 55‑year‑old housekeeping worker from Etah, Uttar Pradesh, recounted voting in every Delhi election for the past 37 years, yet now faces the threat of erasure from the electoral roll. Their stories echo Sahil Wakode’s family’s claim that caste slurs were weaponised to intimidate a student from a “lower caste”.

• ▸Devi’s ordeal unfolded at Government Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Chandni Chowk, on 15 Sept 2026.
• ▸Over one‑third of the draft rolls in Delhi carry notices, exposing massive procedural exclusion.
• ▸The Atrocities Act empowers victims to seek criminal redress, yet enforcement remains uneven across institutions.

These lived experiences underscore how constitutional promises often falter at the point of delivery, leaving the most vulnerable to systemic neglect.

Way Forward: Strengthening Enforcement and Documentation

Addressing caste‑based injustice requires both legal rigor and administrative simplification. Courts must ensure that the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is applied uniformly, including in higher‑education settings. Simultaneously, the Election Commission should streamline SIR procedures—adopting digital verification and reducing document redundancy—to prevent disenfranchisement of daily‑wage workers.

• ▸Implement mandatory sensitivity training for faculty and electoral officials under the Atrocities Act.
• ▸Introduce a single‑window online portal for SIR document submission, linked to Aadhaar authentication.
• ▸Allocate dedicated legal aid cells at campuses and polling stations to assist SC/ST individuals.

Only by aligning constitutional safeguards with pragmatic, inclusive mechanisms can India move toward the egalitarian vision enshrined in its founding charter.