How Dalit couple argued own case, won damages for intellectual property loss

On January 24, a Supreme Court seat of Justices B V Nagarathna and S C Sharma ruled successful their favour, upholding a Bombay High Court bid of 2023 that expanded the explanation of ‘damage to property’ successful the Act to see intelligence property, making them eligible for compensation.

Talking to The Indian Express connected the telephone from an undisclosed location, Uke said, “We were astatine zero, but successful that situation, the lone enactment was to combat it out. And we chose a ineligible combat due to the fact that the assemblage to which we beryllium does not person immoderate different protection, beryllium it religious, societal oregon political.”

Uke says that successful 2015, she and Das, some Ph.D. grade holders from Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, with a specialisation successful International Politics and Political Science, rented a location adjacent Deekshabhoomi successful Nagpur, wherever Dr B R Ambedkar embraced Buddhism successful 1956 with lakhs of his followers. They had besides hoped to fulfill their “dream” of reviving a schoolhouse that Ambedkar founded to bid imaginable governmental leaders.

Uke says that portion their narration with the location proprietor was initially cordial, it each changed successful 2016, allegedly aft they led a protestation rally implicit the Rohith Vemula case. “It was a rally with 10,000 participants and we marched to the RSS office successful Nagpur and besides protested against the arrests of JNU students that year. A fewer days later, the location owner’s lad asked america to vacate the location wrong 24 hours, but we told them that was not imaginable since we were expecting the commencement of our daughter. So we continued surviving determination and paid regular rent,” she said.

Uke says that successful September 2018, she and Das returned location from a sojourn to Delhi to find that the owner’s lad had breached into their premises and “stolen earthy probe data, survey forms, and laptops containing processed data”.

Based connected their complaint, the Bajajnagar constabulary presumption filed an FIR against the location owner’s lad and an “accomplice” connected charges related to transgression trespassing, wrongful restraint and transgression acts by respective persons with communal intention. In November that year, provisions of the SC/ST Act were added to the FIR. However, portion the mates alleged the relation of constabulary unit successful the alleged incident, nary of them were named successful the FIR.

Months later, the mates approached the National Commission for Scheduled Castes seeking a “proper investigation” into the transgression lawsuit and asking for compensation for the IP nonaccomplishment they had suffered.

Uke and Das alleged that they had lost, among different things, earthy information connected a survey they had conducted successful 2014 — arsenic Maharashtra was preparing for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections that twelvemonth — connected the “socio-political consciousness amongst the younker of Nagpur”. As portion of the survey, they said, they had collected much than 500 samples from students belonging to assorted acquisition institutions.

“They damaged astir of our belongings and stole our laptops, archetypal grade certificates, passports, certificates of insubstantial presentations and adjacent passports. No constabulary serviceman was consenting to registry the complaint. Those were the astir important and astir invaluable things for america arsenic researchers. It was a large stroke to our careers and future,” Uke told The Indian Express. The incident, they said, forced them to permission the metropolis and shelve their plans for the grooming school.

The mates sought a compensation of implicit Rs 3.91 crore, which they claimed was the “extrinsic value” of the nonaccomplishment they had suffered, with probe information estimated astatine Rs 1.90 crore and harm to different properties astatine Rs 2.01 crore. They besides sought Rs 127.55 crore, which they said was the “intrinsic value” of their property, and included lifelong occupational nonaccomplishment and outgo of the projected grooming school.

With nary advancement successful the case, successful 2021, the mates approached the Bombay HC, seeking the court’s absorption to the SC Commission to enactment connected their complaint. In March 2022, the tribunal directed the Commission to enactment wrong six weeks connected the petitioners’ complaint. In 2022, based connected the Commission’s recommendations, the authorities acceptable up an SIT to analyse the transgression lawsuit and the compensation claims. While a chargesheet was filed successful a peculiar tribunal successful Nagpur, the proceedings successful the transgression lawsuit is yet to begin.

On Uke and Das’s request for compensation, the territory authorities wrote to them connected June 15, 2022, granting alleviation to the tune of Rs 5 lakh nether definite rules successful the Act portion saying that determination was nary proviso nether the existing Act for further compensation for harm to intelligence property.

The mates past approached the High Court again aboriginal that twelvemonth with a caller plea — seeking a absorption to the Collector to assistance compensation for harm to IP.

With their lawsuit successful the High Court, the mates decided to correspond themselves. “We consulted lawyers, but astir of them lacked an knowing of however the Act applied to evolving instances of caste discrimination. They were reluctant to compensate america erstwhile we had suffered idiosyncratic miseries worthy crores. Given that the full authorities machinery and the strategy was against us, we chose to combat the lawsuit successful tribunal connected our own,” the mates said.

The signifier was acceptable — 2 researchers connected 1 broadside and the State connected the other.

With nary precedent successful India for IP compensation, the mates relied connected planetary IP harm cases. “Everything was caller to us. We argued earlier the High Court successful six oregon 7 hearings, with each lasting astir an hour. It was a tough, lengthy, yet enlightening journey. At each proceeding successful the High Court, astir 50 officials from the constabulary and civilian administration, including the Commissioner, would beryllium contiguous — the system’s afloat might,” said Uke.

On November 10, 2023, the Bombay High Court ruled successful favour of the researchers. Since the SC/ST Act lacked a wide explanation of ‘property’, the tribunal borrowed from the Indian Penal Code, classifying information arsenic “movable property” and affirmed the close of the petitioners to compensation for IP loss.

The tribunal besides directed the Nagpur metropolis Collector to measure the claims and ascertain wrong 3 months the quantum of IP harm caused to the Dalit student couple.

The Maharashtra government, however, went successful entreaty to the Supreme Court, which connected January 24 this twelvemonth dismissed the case, stating, “We bash not find immoderate merit successful the Special Leave Petition.”

Calling the compensation a archetypal step, Das said, “People from the Dalit assemblage trust wholly connected lawyers, unaware of tribunal processes oregon however constabulary constitute documents. Though we won the lawsuit for compensation, existent and applicable justness is inactive a agelong travel — for america and for astir different Dalits.”