Karnataka Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2025

Why in news?

The Karnataka Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill was unanimously passed with support from lawmakers across parties.

• Aim – To punish caste & community-based social exclusion & discrimination carried out by informal bodies like caste or community panchayats.
• Objective – To uphold equality and protect backward and marginalised groups from further exclusion caused by unconstitutional practices.
• 2^nd State – With this law, Karnataka has become the second state, after Maharashtra, to enact a law criminalising social boycotts.

Key Provisions

• Definition – It defines a social boycott as any act or gesture, oral or written, that results in social discrimination among members of a community.
• List of forms of exclusion – It lists 20 forms of exclusion, including
  • Denial of the right to work, hire services, conduct business, or participate in social and religious life on equal terms.
  • Also, interference in marriages or funeral rites, blocking access to essential services, and acts of social ostracism on any grounds, etc.
• Scope of Criminal Liability – It extends criminal liability beyond those who directly impose a boycott to include individuals who encourage, enforce, or use their influence to sustain it.
• Members of any-body who votes in favour of a social boycott will also be deemed to have committed the offence.
• Prohibition on assembling – Assemblies convened to deliberate or plan the imposition of a boycott are declared unlawful.
• Victim to be heard – If the accused is found guilty, the Court must first hear the victim on the sentence before deciding it.
• Offences to be cognizable & bailable – Offences under this Act are cognizable & bailable, and will be tried by a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class.
• Compounding of Offence – An offence under this Act may be settled if the victim consents and the court grants permission.
• Receiving Complaints – The victim or a family member can file a complaint with the police or directly before a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class.
• Police Powers – The police are empowered to file complaints on their own initiative (suo motu).
• Social Boycott Prohibition Officer – The State Government may appoint, through an official notification, a Group ‘A’ officer as the Social Boycott Prohibition Officer.
• Punishment – It prescribes imprisonment of up to 3 years, a fine that may extend to Rs 1 lakh, or both, for any person who imposes, causes, or practises a social boycott.

Reference

The News Minute | Karnataka’s Social Boycott Bill