R. Rajendren

Human Rights Defender

Tamil Nadu

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on September 23, 2020 regarding physical assault and fabricated charges against Mr. R. Rajendran. Mr. Rajendran is a lawyer and human/ linguistic rights activist from Karur district in Tamil Nadu.

On July 30, 2020, Mr. Rajendran called fellow lawyer Mr. Raja to ask if he was overcharging his clients. Annoyed with this, Mr. Raja, a minister’s aide, booked a false case against Mr. Rajendran under Sections 294(b), 323, 506(1) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3(1) (r), 3(1) (s), 3 (2) (v), of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act at the Thanthonimalai police station. He alleged that Mr Rajendran humiliated him, used casteist slurs and assaulted him. 

While Mr. Rajendran was granted bail in the case, on August 19, 2020, six persons including Mr. Raja brutally attacked him again. While no action was taken on his complaint by the Thanthonimalai police station, the attacks and fabricated charges against him were reprisals for his legal support to a journalist who was assaulted for reporting on a minister violating COVID-19 protocols during a marriage function.