The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from Tamil Nadu authorities on a special leave petition regarding alleged caste discrimination and atrocities suffered by the Dalit Catholic Christian community of Kottapalayam parish in Tiruchirappalli district.A Bench headed by Justice P.S. Narasimha issued notice to the District Collector and other authorities on a petition filed by J. Doss Prakash, represented by advocates Thomas Franklin Caesar and S. Gowthaman.The petition said the community members had approached the State government, the Centre and the Catholic Church with their grievances about the caste atrocities and “untouchability” they had been suffering for a century.The petition said their community in the parish was composed of Dalit Christian Catholics of Parayar, Aruthathiyar, Pallar and Vannan families who were performing work including burials, menial agricultural labour, footwear repair, etc.“As of date, the petitioners ... face the traditional practice of untouchability and inhuman caste discrimination because of the caste aggression of the majority dominant caste community/Catholic Christians in church,” the petition said.Published - February 22, 2025 12:43 am IST