Man in Karnataka hangs self, another dies of heart attack, after being demoted due to Supreme Court order

A Supreme Court directive to the Karnataka government to reshuffle its employees by demoting officials from the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities who were given consequential promotion based on reservation, has cost at least two people their lives. While family members of 59-year-old Public Works Department (PWD) worker Lingaraju from Chitradurgha claim that his death from heart attack resulted from the news of his demotion, 41-year-old revenue inspector Jagadish Chaluwadi ended his life as a village accountant by hanging himself from a ceiling fan. In February last year, hearing the case BK Pavitra and others vs Union of India, the Supreme Court ordered the striking down of seniority in promotions awarded to SC/ST employees and in March, it ordered the Karnataka government to implement the ruling. Following this, in November last year, the Karnataka Assembly unanimously passed the  Karnataka Extension of Consequential Seniority to Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation (to the post in the civil services of the state) Bill, in an attempt to avoid demoting employees. But the Bill was returned by the President’s office and the state government was asked to use its own discretion to decide on the matter. [caption id=“attachment_4457493” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] Karnataka chief secretary Ratna Prabha had earlier said the government will release details of officers who have been demoted after a Supreme Court hearing, scheduled for 9 May. But up till then, the fate of several officers from scheduled communities in the country remains uncertain. While the exact number of officers who will be demoted is not known, estimates vary from 3,000-22,000. “He is survived by his wife and two daughters. He was the primary income source for the family. The order for his demotion was passed on April 16 and on the same day he was informed about it through WhatsApp. He committed suicide on May 2,” said Jagadish’s brother Ravi Chaluwadi, who works as a revenue inspector in Sampakanda village, Sirsi taluk. Jagadish was demoted from the post of revenue inspector to that of a village accountant in Banavasi village, Mudugonda taluk, Sirsi. “My brother called me and told me about his demotion order. He was unsure of what to do. He tried filing a petition at the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal (KAT); but his petition was not accepted due to the Supreme Court order. He was also unsure of what would happen in case he decided to fight a case against the order in Supreme Court. He said he would go to Bengaluru to meet lawyers and file a case on May 3, but on May 2, he killed himself,” said Ravi. “A case of unnatural death has been registered. The incident happened around 11 in the morning and a case was registered at around 3.30. The reason for death is specified as unnatural. He (Jagadish) hung himself from the ceiling fan,” said Vinayak Patil, Superintendent of Police, Karwar district. “They should not have passed such an order. Reservation in promotion has been implemented but has not crossed the 18 percent limit. When the limit has not been crossed, there was no necessity to demote employees. After the Supreme Court order, the government should have stopped further promotions. What is the mistake of employees who were promoted on the basis of the (Karnataka State Civil Services) Act? Why should they suffer?” said Indudhara Honnapura , a human rights activist and the editor for Samvaada, a magazine that serves as a forum for intellectual debates. For Lingaraju of Chitradurgha, being demoted just a year and a half before he was scheduled to retire, was too much to take. “Lingaraju and I worked at the PWD department in Chitradurgha. I was the executive engineer and he was working as the assistant executive engineer. I was demoted to the post of a Grade 1 assistant engineer and he was demoted to the post of a Grade 2 assistant engineer. He was informed about the demotion on April 29 and had approached me. He still had a year and a half of service remaining but wanted to retire. I convinced him not to take such a hasty decision. Later, I was informed that he had died of a cardiac arrest,” says KG Jagadish. Lingaraju’s son, Avinash L, 27, said, “He (Lingaraju) was supposed to accompany us to Shimoga on April 29 for my mother’s treatment. But he called me and said he will not be able to make it and asked us to get my mother treated and return. My father does not sleep over seven hours. Every morning at 6, he went out for a walk. But that day, we couldn’t reach his phone since morning.” Avinash said that because he was worried about his father, he had asked a friend to check on him. “When my friend reached the house, he found the gates locked. After receiving no response, he broke the door open and found my father dead,” he said, adding, “He informed us and we immediately rushed back.” “It came as a shock to me when I heard that he is no more. I have lost a very close friend. I hope such a situation does not befall on any other person. It is definitely an insult to all those who were demoted. Now, that the government has dismissed our cases in the KAT, we do not know where to go. With the elections coming, all I have to say is that people from the SC/ST communities should think before casting their ballots; the (Karnataka Extension of Consequential Seniority to Government Servants Promoted on the Basis of Reservation (to the post in the civil services of the state)) Bill still needs the President’s approval. If they pass it, then we can think about whom we will elect as our leader,” said Mallikarjun, a close friend of Lingaraju. “People have to suffer, their families have to suffer and it is humiliating for them. This humiliation cannot be compared to anything. The Supreme Court should have thought about all this before taking such a decision. A caste-minded society will not allow SC/ST people to be promoted. People are genuinely being denied their rights; they are doing the same for promotions,” said Honnapura. Ravi said that he was informed of his brother’s demise on the evening of 2 May. “My nephew saw the body first; his wife was working out when he hung himself. Now we have to wait and see what the government does about this case,” he said. “We have discussed about the matter and we did receive the news about their deaths. We give our sincere condolences. We are waiting for the Supreme Court judgement and based on that we will take further decisions. We will provide compensation to the deceased families; for now we are just awaiting the judgement,” said Ratna Prabha. The author is a member of The NewsCart_, a Bengaluru-based media startup._